Listen to the Whole Song
“Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus
speak: “
“You cannot fix someone who doesn’t want to be fixed. But you can ruin your life trying.”
And sometimes you can’t fix people who want to be fixed and it’s one of those places where you must come to understand where you are at.
Ecclesiastes “7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? 14) In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything that shall be after him.”
There are so many words of wisdom in the Bible. Ecclesiastes is just one of my favorite books. Indeed, who can make straight that which God has made crooked? That is an intriguing idea, yet it looks like in our world today this is what quite a few people are trying to do.
God doesn’t make people “crooked”. He doesn’t make us sinful. There are those who tell us humans are born sinful, but of course another passage in Ecclesiastes—“7:29 Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” And by inventions, it doesn’t mean light bulbs and electricity, it means sins and sinfulness.
On the other spectrum, as I look and watch out my window/s there are still those times the beauty which God has showered on his creation is so overwhelming. I’m reminded of some of the early painters of the magnificent West.
These well-known artists such as Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Thomas Moran, Charles Marion, and Frederick Remington painted such pictures of fantastic beauty. One such artist received $25,000 for one of his paintings, and these were paintings during the late 1800s to early 1900s—times when that amount of money was astronomical.
When I look at the scenes God paints every day, I wonder, where am I and what am I doing? That’s not really the question I ask, but some days…
There is beauty that lights up the world, and I wonder if artists such as the ones mentioned are similar to the scientist, Isaac Newton, who was credited with so many discoveries. Yet, even after all of those discoveries, Newton said he felt like a child walking by the seaside only picking up a few gems along the way, trying to discover God’s wisdom along the seashore.
And even as we see the beautiful works we know that God reproduces these beauties day after day. These things all bear witness of the higher being, as it were a Power greater than ourselves. As Barnabas and Paul told the men of Lycaonia:
“Acts 14:15 and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: 16) who in the generations gone by suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17) And yet He left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
It has become fashionable for acapella singers to record a song part by part with one person doing all the different parts, bass, soprano, alto, and tenor. When sung as such, on the whole it is quite an accomplishment. One of my favorite singers is Acapeldridge.
One voice by itself can be inspiring. I remember when I first began attending church most everyone was a new Christian and not familiar with singing the different parts. We all sang and it sounded fine but…
As we’ve learned to sing the different parts through the years, listening to the songs as they were written and meant to be sung, I realize now, as the parts become a whole how much better they sound.
“Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak: 10) for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. 11) And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end:”
