Jacob's Rush

Lately I've found myself really enjoying my son. That's not to say that I didn't before, but it seems that overnight he's become this little man I can hold conversations with who asks about a question per second. These questions are mostly random with at least one an hour presenting me with some theological issue that I can't really answer. There may be future blogs about some of those questions, and there may be future blogs about the roller coaster experience that is our new found T-ball phase of life, but this one is about something different. Thanks for reading on...

A couple of weeks ago, our family (which again includes Ashley who's living with us), sat down to watch August Rush. This is a beautiful movie about a young boy with an extraordinary gift for music. He hears music in the wind, where he lives, in the city, etc. Orchestrations come to him with ease, and the movie includes his discovery of his abilities. I won't spoil it for you, but you should definitely rent it or put it on your Netflix list. After the movie, as the credits were rolling, and the movie score was playing, Jacob went and sat down at the piano. He was listening very intently to the music from the movie, and he began to play along. When I say play along, I mean that he played along. I'm not saying that he played what he heard note for note, but he played along. His ear kept him in the right key and he played sometimes with the melody and sometimes he was making harmony, but it was all right. It all fit. When he would accidentally hit a note that didn't work, he quickly changed it. Holly, Ashley, and I exchanged dumbfounded looks and could say nothing. It really was one of the most beautiful things we've ever seen. I had to shake my head and attempt to withhold tears.

As we've been studying Galatians, I find myself more and more free from sin, guilt, fear, and death, and more importantly I find myself strangely sensitive to the Gospel. It's interesting to me how much we try to control our Christian experience through discipline and routine. I think it's more appropriate for us to realize that God created and set this world into motion. It could not continue without his constant involvement and supervision of everything. We are dependent upon him for everything. His Spirit moves in us and speaks to us - all around us He is giving us opportunity to be His ambassadors, to live for His glory. The music is around us, the Gospel has been preached and is being preached in movies, in the streets, in our homes, at our jobs, at our schools, in coffee shops - everywhere. What if we just played along to the music that God is playing in the background? What if we realized when we stepped out of tune or hit a note in the wrong key and we quickly found ourselves back in sync with the score? It reminds me again of John 3-4 where Jesus encounters the woman at the well and Nicodemus and He says that following the Spirit is like the wind. It blows wherever it pleases. It goes where God wants it to go. What if we surrendered control of our spiritual lives and let the wind blow us and find our part in the greater musical score that is being played? What if followers of Christ were able to sync up with their Holy Spirit Rush? Jacob didn't make an announcement. He didn't read a book. He didn't ask permission. He heard the music, sat down, and played along. The music was much bigger than him. He didn't try to take it over. he didn't think he was making better. He just played along and contributed what he could. He played a part, and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

I hope that we can discern the song the Spirit is playing all around us and play with Him, play in tune, play in rhythm, play an appropriate part, play like He's the conductor and we're the musicians, play like He's the Creator and we're the created, play with our hearts with our ears listening closely for where the Song is going and for what's coming next.

Thank you, Jesus for your Gospel that reveals itself everywhere.