I was in church a couple weeks ago listening to a guest speaker as he was reading his passage out of The Message (a bible paraphrase). I'm not normally a Message fan, it just doesn't usually resonate with me, but then he read these words. . .
“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in ?Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end He's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the cross.” -Colossians 1:15-20
I have to tell you the imagery took me for a ride. I'm not real sure what else he said because I meditated on these words. I'll share with you what stuck in my head. “all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies.” This phrase has carried me on a journey since that morning.
To put things in the proper perspective let me tell you a story. I was in eighth grade and part of my jr. high's choral group. I loved singing and this was without a doubt my favorite class. The thing about choral groups is in many cases you never really get the hear what the whole group sounds like together. The sopranos stand with the sopranos and sing their part, as do the altos and tenors. You are surrounded by those doing what you do so you never get hear all the parts together in harmony. In the spring of that year we went to an amusement park for a regional competition. We did well and ended up getting the highest mark you could receive: a superior. We were all excited, and jumped and shouted like a group of 7th-9th graders should. Then it was time to go home and this is the part I will never forget. Our director let us each take turns listening to the performance, and when I heard it I was amazed. I never realized we sounded like that. The harmonies were spot on and in perfect balance and the songs were done so well that I couldn't believe it was us. I couldn't believe my small insecure voice had a part in anything so complete, so beautiful.
And that brings me back to these verses. So many times I feel like what I do is small and insignificant. And to be honest, most of the time I don't feel qualified for even those small insignificant tasks God has for me. A friend told me the other day, “Sometimes I wonder why in the world He has laid things on my heart to do, when I know there are better people to handle them than me. I do not get it at all. . . Other people would not have the distractions I have, and would get things done better.” So I know that I am not the only one. The thing is, if I wasn't there for that competition, the soprano part wouldn't have been as strong, and the harmonies wouldn't have been in such perfect balance. Yes, there were much better singers than me in the group, but what mattered was how the group sounded as a whole. Sometimes I do feel “broken and dislocated” but God has fixed me the this spot and fit me for it and it for me. I don't have to know the whys and what fors, I just have to look forward to the time when I can hear the complete harmony and know I played a part in some vibrantly beautiful.
“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in ?Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end He's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the cross.” -Colossians 1:15-20
I have to tell you the imagery took me for a ride. I'm not real sure what else he said because I meditated on these words. I'll share with you what stuck in my head. “all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies.” This phrase has carried me on a journey since that morning.
To put things in the proper perspective let me tell you a story. I was in eighth grade and part of my jr. high's choral group. I loved singing and this was without a doubt my favorite class. The thing about choral groups is in many cases you never really get the hear what the whole group sounds like together. The sopranos stand with the sopranos and sing their part, as do the altos and tenors. You are surrounded by those doing what you do so you never get hear all the parts together in harmony. In the spring of that year we went to an amusement park for a regional competition. We did well and ended up getting the highest mark you could receive: a superior. We were all excited, and jumped and shouted like a group of 7th-9th graders should. Then it was time to go home and this is the part I will never forget. Our director let us each take turns listening to the performance, and when I heard it I was amazed. I never realized we sounded like that. The harmonies were spot on and in perfect balance and the songs were done so well that I couldn't believe it was us. I couldn't believe my small insecure voice had a part in anything so complete, so beautiful.
And that brings me back to these verses. So many times I feel like what I do is small and insignificant. And to be honest, most of the time I don't feel qualified for even those small insignificant tasks God has for me. A friend told me the other day, “Sometimes I wonder why in the world He has laid things on my heart to do, when I know there are better people to handle them than me. I do not get it at all. . . Other people would not have the distractions I have, and would get things done better.” So I know that I am not the only one. The thing is, if I wasn't there for that competition, the soprano part wouldn't have been as strong, and the harmonies wouldn't have been in such perfect balance. Yes, there were much better singers than me in the group, but what mattered was how the group sounded as a whole. Sometimes I do feel “broken and dislocated” but God has fixed me the this spot and fit me for it and it for me. I don't have to know the whys and what fors, I just have to look forward to the time when I can hear the complete harmony and know I played a part in some vibrantly beautiful.
