All Instruments Tuned to God
One time in junior high I was in band class and we had a substitute director who apparently didn’t have a great deal of experience working with bands. He wanted us to be in tune so he told all of us to tune to the person next to us. Since most of us didn’t have enough musical experience to know how ridiculous this idea was, we tried it. After ten minutes of trying to tune to the person next to us, the substitute finally gave up and asked us how we normally did it.
The real way to tune a band (at least for a practice at the junior high level) was to have the piano play the pitch and then all the instruments would tune to it. When we tried it, the entire band was in tune in less than a minute. Instead of constantly adjusting to the people on either side of us (who were different from each other and were themselves constantly adjusting), we all had one focus and all adjusted ourselves to the one tone.
It’s a shame that the church is not as intelligent as a junior high band. We work so hard at tuning to everyone else that we forget the piano up front that we easily tune to. Not only is it easier, but it is far more precise.
In recent years (or perhaps only since I’ve been paying attention) there has been a movement towards church unification. While this is a biblical goal in and of itself, it is not being carried out. Despite all the talk of unity, there has not been any improvement in the area. The reason is that in our efforts to unify with each other, we have forgotten that if all of us “tune” to God, we will all be in tune with each other.
It is an unfortunate trend I’ve seen. Groups, whether denominations or organizations, are working so hard to adjust and harmonize with other groups that they forget Jesus Christ. A friend of mine is a leader in one of the organizations that emphasizes unity. He shared with me once his utter dismay with the speakers. The could speak well, and they created an emotional (and temporary) bond of unity, but they did not discuss the Bible. Despite all the theological differences, there are certain Biblical concepts that are too obvious to not be agreed upon by every true Bible-believing Christian. Surly one speaker a month would be able to find something. I asked one speaker who was guilty of this avoidance of Scripture why he did it, and he claimed that it was the only way to keep the unity.
This is ridiculous! If one cannot keep a group unified without speaking on some basic biblical tenets, then maybe those who would be offended need to re-examine their faith. I realize that to many this may sound judgmental, but I am going no farther than Paul exhorts us to many times in his letters. If you try to unify with someone in spirit who does not have the Spirit dwelling within him, you will fail miserably. There are only two ways to avoid failure. The first is back away from the Faith for the sake of unity and the second is to reach that persona and bring him to faith for the sake of unity. Clearly, the second is the better option.
I apologize that this essay has been so blunt, but I fear it desperately needs to be said yet has been for the most part ignored. These are things I have learned from experience. Anyone who really knows me could tell you that I have worked countless hours trying to build Christian unity. It the process I have learned a great deal. One thing is what was stated above; that unity cannot be obtained by trying to shape yourself to everyone around you who claims to be Christian, especially if they are not. If, however, everyone shapes themselves to Christ, then unity will be the natural result. The only way for the church to be perfectly in tune is if every individual tunes to God.
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