Christians as Strings of Christmas Lights

Christians are like strings of Christmas lights. God wants to string us in a dark world so His light will shine out in attractive ways.

But we inevitably get tangled and our bulbs burn out, diminishing, if not eliminating, our effectiveness. There is no avoiding those frustrating realities; they are inevitable and we remain darkened unless they are addressed.

But God can fix us if we acknowledge them. He will gladly straighten us out, replace our bulbs and put us to His use. It may not be easy, but it can be done and God is eager to do it.

(Images dealing with winter related themes were posted September 12a, November 27 and December 12, 2004.

Images of God’s grace in correcting us were posted on September 12, 23, October 14, 17, 2004.

Images about forgiveness were posted on November 27 and December 2, 2004.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents: Knowing that We Don’t Know

A toddler can only understand a small part of her father’s life. She knows he loves her, enjoys being with her, and provides for her, but can’t fully understand the depth of those emotions or what is involved in making sure she has what she needs. Moreover, she has little understanding of what he does outside the home or of his life before she arrived. She catches glimpses of these things now and then, but they are mostly beyond her understanding. Sure, she’ll grasp more as she matures, but she’ll never fully comprehend them. But that doesn’t stop her from loving him or him from loving her.

The same is true of our understanding of God. We sense that He loves us, enjoys fellowship with us, and provides for us, but we only perceive a small, small, part of those realities. We have only a vague awareness of what He’s doing in other parts of His creation and only a limited conception of what He was up to before that creation came into being. Although we will learn more the longer we walk with Him, we are inherently incapable of fully understanding Him. But as is the case with us and our children, our inability to fully comprehend God doesn’t limit His love for us.

(Other images comparing our relationship with God with our relationship to our children can be found at What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents.)

Becoming Good Soil in God's Garden: The Process of Becoming Fruitful

The process God uses to make a fruitful Christian is a lot like the process for making a fruitful garden. Both involve significant change and both take time.

Making a fruitful garden

There are a number of separate steps involved in creating a fruitful garden.

First, the gardener dedicates the space to that purpose, moving what is there to make room. This can be big project it its own right, depending on how the space was used, but it must be done because crops can’t grow with something else in the way.

Then the gardener must work the soil, turning it over and breaking it down to a workable texture. This can be a very difficult process, depending on how thick the existing vegetation was and how compacted the soil had become, but there is no getting around this step either.

After that, he must remove things in the soil that will hinder the crop’s ability to put down roots, things like rocks and other junk buried over the years. They’re invisible until the soil has been turned and tilled, but they must be removed if the garden is to reach full potential.

Once that’s done, the gardener must add things for the soil to produce at the desired level. This can be all manner of things, from compost, to various kinds of fertilizers, to manure, depending on the state of the soil and what the gardener wants to grow. Soil rarely can produce as expected without these amendments.

Then time must pass. An experienced gardener prepares his ground in the fall, allowing time for the amendments to add their benefits into the soil as the long winter months creep by. Once spring arrives, soil and air temperatures must reach the right levels before seeds can be planted with any prospect for success. And after that, it takes time for the seeds to germinate, and even more time for the plants to mature to fruit bearing.

Making a fruitful Christian

God usually puts us through the same steps.

First, He takes action to dedicate us to the tasks He has in mind, which almost always requires that other things be cleared away. Those things may be relatively minor, or they may take a lot of time and effort to get rid of, but either way they have to go make room for God’s purposes.

Then He starts to dig into our lives, breaking up our thought and behavior patterns, tilling us into the right texture to receive the things necessary for a good crop, and removing the subtle, but harmful, things that hinder growth. This definitely isn’t easy, but we can’t produce to God’s level if we remain compacted or have rocks where roots must grow.

God also adds the things we need, but lack, to produce what He’s looking for. Sometimes that’s pleasant, like the rich humus of His word, good teaching, and Christian fellowship. But sometimes—in fact most times—we also need the spiritual equivalent of manure. What ever they are, we can be sure we’re better off with than without them, no matter how unpleasant they might seem at first.

And as with a garden, it takes time for things develop into fruitfulness. That can’t be rushed, but can only happen when conditions are right. Fortunately, He always knows when that is, and it’s always worth the wait.

(Images about gardening or soil related themes were posted October 3c, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28, June 11, 13 and 24, 2005.

Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about patience/waiting on God were posted October 1, November 21, December 8, 2004 and June 11, 18, and 24, 2005.

Images about the benefits of eliminating things that distract us from God/His purposes for us were posted September 18d, October 3a and 14, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28 and August 3, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

Drinking a Milkshake Through a Straw: A Loose Paraphrase of James 1:16-17, 19-21

Absorbing God’s word is like drinking a perfect milkshake. It’s the richest, most flavorful, and most nutritious drink you will ever consume, and it will never go bad. It'll always be like that.

But, because of our humanness, we are limited in how much we can absorb, like someone drinking a milkshake through a straw. Just as one can’t drink if he's blowing into his straw, we can’t receive that rich goodness when we are talking instead of listening. And just as junk in a straw will clog it, reducing or even stopping the flow, anger and other impurities in our lives limit how much of that wonderful milkshake we can take in.

(Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.)

What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents: Dealing with "Meltdowns"

Those who have parented a toddler have experienced “meltdowns”: tantrums where even a wonderfully mannered, well behaved, child becomes inconsolable and almost uncontrollable. The cause is usually trivial by objective standards, but terribly upsetting to the child.

The effect is similarly upsetting; the parent can forget about whatever was planned because the normal dynamics of the parent-child relationship are temporarily suspended. Instead, the focus shifts to “damage control,” limiting the disruption and making sure that the toddler doesn’t hurt herself. It’s very frustrating because even if there is a real problem, the child’s reaction only hinders the parent’s ability to address it.

I wonder if there isn't a similar dynamic between adults and our heavenly Father. Things come into our lives that are inconsequential from an eternal perspective, but we react terribly because they are terribly disturbing from our limited point of view. That at least temporarily interferes with whatever plans God has for us, and I bet that God, in his perfect love, shifts into the damage control mode to get us through it. And just as a child’s meltdown complicates the task of dealing with the underlying problem, our frenzy adds to the mess God must clean up.

So how do we prevent, or at least limit, meltdowns?

We should do what we would like our kids to do: tell our Father what’s bothering us and trust Him will deal with it. That’s not easy, but just as we are eager to soothe our kids’ agitated emotions in the midst of their meltdowns, God is eager to calm us in ours. And just as the parent is better able to deal with the underlying problem than the child, God can solve our problems far better than we can—if we will just get out of the way and let him.

(Other images comparing our relationship with God with our relationship to our children can be found at What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents.

Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.

Images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.)

What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents: Effective Prayer

“In your prayers do not babble…”

Matthew 6:7 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Anyone who has spent time with a toddler has experienced “babbling,” the repetition of the same phrase or request over and over again just for the sake of saying it. It’s not meant to annoy, and usually doesn’t; it just becomes background noise. We hear it, but that’s about it. It’s not effective communication, even though it feels good to the child.

But then there are the times when the toddler focuses and tries to convey a specific message. It may not be perfectly stated, but it stands in noticeable contrast to the chattering, or anything else going on right then, and gets your attention. And that’s true even if it’s something she’s said in the same words many times, like “I love you,” “daddy help me” or “me want milk.” Those focused communications stand out and get a response, even if they’re in garbled form, precisely becuase of their focused nature.

Our prayers fall into the same pattern. Some are mindlessly repeated without any real attention to what we’re saying. They can take the form of liturgy, song, or even private prayers. On the other hand, there are focused prayers intended to convey specific, individualized, thoughts that are real communication, even if we’ve said the same thing, in the same way, many times before (as in liturgy, song, or our private prayers) or if they're akwardly stated. It’s the focused, intentional, thought behind the words that makes all the difference.

(Images addressing what we can learn about God from being parents were posted September 17b, 17b, and 17c; November 13, 15, and 24; December 2, 2004 and January 2, February 18, April 25, August 9 and October 3 2005.

Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.)

God's Grace as Water: It's Everywhere

Although it’s not obvious, water is everywhere we are, all the time. We ourselves are mostly water, all living plants contain a high percentage of water, and the very air we breathe always contains some water, even when humidity is at its lowest. Water is contained in many of the foods we depend on to stay healthy, from vegetables, to dairy products, to meats, and if its not there in the form in which we eat them, it was there in their earlier forms. We are dependent on water, whether we know it or not.

God’s grace is like that. It too is everywhere we are, whether we recognize it or not. It's what keeps us alive and makes life worth living. It’s provided to all, in one form or another, whether or not they appreciate its presence, nature, or source, and none of us can live without it.

(Images based on water related themes were posted on September 12b, October 1, November 6, 7, and 10, 2004. A series of four images dealing with a somewhat related theme (a garden hose) were posted September 18, 2004 here, here, here and here.

Images about humility were posted October 1, November 6 and 10, 2004.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

God's Grace as Water: Jumping, and Staying, In

Almost everyone has had the experience of jumping into water that is cooler than expected and immediately having regrets. Sometimes we jump right back out and that’s the end of our swimming. But if we stay in through the initial adjustment, the discomfort goes away and the experience becomes very pleasurable.

God’s grace is often like that. He leads us into things that look good but are initially very discomforting because they are a dramatic change from what we’re used to. That forces us to make a choice. We can (sometimes) jump right back to where we were, but all that results in is our suffering the initial shock without receiving the benefits He intends. Or, we can stick it out through the uncomfortable transition and receive those benefits, which always far outweigh the initial discomfort. 

The choice is ours.

(Images based on water related themes were posted on September 12b, October 1, November 6, 7, and 10, 2004. A series of four images dealing with a somewhat related theme (a garden hose) were posted September 18, 2004 here, here, here and here.

Images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.)

Responding to God's Grace: What We Can Learn From Water

Scripture frequently uses water to represent God's grace. See Psalm 1:3; Isaiah 12:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8; Ezekiel 17:5-6 and 47:1-12; Zechariah 13:1 and 14:8; John 4:13-14 and 7:37-38; Revelation 22:1-2 and the notes thereto. That analogy is no accident because it illustrates at least two important things about grace.

First, although grace is available to all, we must position ourselves to receive its full benefit. Grace, like water, flows down hill and is most abundant in low spots. Although some rain falls on mountain tops, the most powerful collections of water—rivers, lakes and oceans—are found in lower spots. The same is true of God’s grace; some is available to persons in every station of life, but it is more abundant for those who do not exalt themselves, but instead live humbly before Him. See Proverbs 22:4, 29:23; Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; 9:48, 14:11, 18:9-14; John 13:12-16; I Peter 5:5-6.

Second, we can be waterproof or we can be absorbent. God makes his grace available to all, but not all accept it. Some, the waterproof, prefer to operate in their own strength. They will be like plants that “live[] in the parched places of the desert.” Jer.17: 6 (New Jerusalem Bible). But if we are porous, trusting in Him, God will be faithful to provide what we need, Jeremiah 17:7-8. Accord Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:31. Moreover, if we let it in, God’s grace, like water absorbed by a plant, will permeate all aspects of our being. Jeremiah17:8. Accord Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21.

(Images based on water related themes were posted on September 12b, October 1, November 6, 7, and 10, 2004. A series of four images dealing with a somewhat related theme (a garden hose) were posted September 18, 2004 here, here, here and here.

Images about humility were posted October 1, November 6 and 10, 2004.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a and 3b, November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.

Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.)

Becoming a Championship Christian

Becoming a fruitful Christian is a lot like being part of a championship team.

The Resources at Our Disposal

We have the ultimate coach; He set the rules of the game and has been through, and won, the toughest possible competitions (Jesus). We have been a playbook that covers, at one level of specificity or another, everything we’ll face on the field (the Bible).

There is no better program. Effective use of those resources assures us a championship, but only if we use them well.

Developing Skills

How do we do that?

We begin by learning the basic plays—the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ teachings. We master them through regular study of those portions of the playbook, study that continues through our entire career as we become better and better able to understand their nuances.

But understanding plays isn’t enough; they must actually be run and run well. Indeed, they can't really be understood until they've actually been attempted. That requires constant practice and regular consultation with our Coach. The more we do this the better we get. Sure, there’ll be times when we don’t execute well, but our Coach is always willing to help us deal with, and learn from, those mistakes. They will become less frequent the more we study, practice, and work with Him.

As we become more experienced we realize that that there is more to the game than the basic plays. As essential as those fundamentals are, we must also learn the other, more subtle, points of the playbook to really be effective. We learn them the same way we learn the basics: continual study, continual practice, and continual consultation with the Coach. Again, we will never be perfect, but we will get better if we keep at it.

Playing Tough

It’s also crucial to remember that we have an opponent who does whatever it takes to win. That means that the games will be tough and that we’ll probably lose a few here and there.

But we shouldn’t despair over our losses. A game is not a season. Moreover, our Coach, who knows us intimately and has already beaten our opponent innumerable times, knows what it takes to win the championship and will give us everything we need to do so if we follow him through those tough times. Remembering our Coach’s many past victories, and drawing near to our team mates, will help us through these rough spots.

If we do these things the championship is ours, or more accurately, His.



(Images about God’s providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a and 18c, October 3, November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; May 11, June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.

Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.)

Grabbing God’s Helping Hand

God offers a powerful helping hand to each and every Christian seeking to do His will, but we must act to receive that help. That requires three things.

First, we must empty our hands of anything else. We can’t can’t grab hold of Him if they are filled with other things. We must give those things up, but it’s more than worth it.

Second, we have to reach out and grab His hand. Although he is bold to first extend it, we cannot receive its full benefit if we do not take hold of it. However difficult that may be at first, we must swallow our pride, overcome our awkwardness, and grab it to reach our full potential in Christ. The good news is that He is eager to reciprocate, regardless of how dirty our hands may be or how weak our grip. He wants the relationship that comes with it.

Third, we must not let go. That deprives us and others of the full measure of the goodness He offers. It also allows us to wander off the course He would lead us on. God is faithful to take our hand again and lead us back if we do that, but the time off course is wasted and can never be fully recovered.



(Images dealing with similar themes were posted on September 12, 12 (a separate post), 18, October 1, 3, 8, 17, November 6, 2004 and January 10 and February 28, 2005.

Other images about the benefits of eliminating things that distract us from God and His purposes for us were posted on September 18, October 3 and 14, November 21 and December 8, 2004 and February 28 and August 3, 2005.)

Christians as God's Employees: A Loose Paraphrase of 2 Peter 1:3-11

Christians are like employees who have been offered an awesome computer, all the training, and every other resource we need by an Employer who wants us to be wildly successful, both for His and our benefit. We can be amazingly effective for Him, and wonderfully fulfilled, if we learn to use those things to their fullest and enthusiastically put them to use. That will not only give us the joy that comes from effectiveness, but also prevent us from wanting to waste our time on less worthy things.

But will only happen if we do our part. We must to do several things to achieve those results.

First, we must have the right attitude. We must want to accomplish good things for our Employer and His present and potential customers. In other words, we must be committed to His business.

Second, we must take the effort, and submit to the discipline, necessary to learn how to take full advantage all He gives us. Even the best tools do little good if we don’t know how to utilize their many features. That requires serious time in the employees’ manual and eager attention at the trainings our co-workers put on, at His direction, every week. Those steps are absolutely essential to success and half hearted efforts will definitely impair our effectiveness—and job satisfaction.

Third, we must put in the time and effort necessary to complete the projects our Employer has given us. For example, He did not give us the computer to play games, instant message our friends, or surf the net when we should be doing His work. Although He wants us to have joy in our lives, and those activities are OK on our own time, He expects us to put His work first.

Fourth, we must stick with it even when the job becomes difficult or tedious. Those things happen in every job, no matter how great it is, so we shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged when we encounter them here. After all, no one has ever had the success our Employer has achieved, so there is no reason to doubt our ultimate success if we stay at it.

Fifth, we must internalize our Employer's nature and seek to emulate Him. That is difficult because it goes against our nature, but it can be done and is well worth the effort. The best way to do that is to observe how He has conducted business in the past (described in detail in the employee’s manual) and to keep in close, continual, communication with Him. Fortunately, He encourages that and makes Himself available to us 24/7. But we must remember that communication goes two ways and must listen to, and act on, what He says. All of this takes time and effort, but it’s well worth it because He is the ultimate mentor. And because He is such a good mentor, He will make sure we succeed—if we keep at it.

Sixth, we must approach our work with consideration for, and genuine collegiality with, our fellow workers, even the difficult and odd ones. Nobody, us or them, gets much fulfillment out of a work place where no one interacts with their coworkers or, worse yet, undercuts or gossips about them. Instead, we find joy and productivity when we work together, not only to further our Employer’s business, but also to help each other in our personal lives.

Seventh, we must subordinate our individual interests and desires to those of our coworkers and our Employer’s customers, even when it’s difficult. That has been the key to His unparalleled success and He expects us to follow His example. Sure, that’s not easy, but it's essential to continuing success. Once again, our Employer has ways to help us with this. They're in the employees’ manual and He’s more than happy to explain them, and to help us put them to work, if we spend time with Him.

These actions will, together with the wonderful tools our Employer gives us, dramatically enhance our productivity, our job satisfaction, and our relationship with Him.

Conversely, the failure to do so will make us ineffective and deprive us of the great rewards He would otherwise provide. We will be problem employees, just “putting in our time” and missing all the good things our job has to offer.

(Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; June 11 and 18, July 20, August 21 and 27, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the importance of exercising the spiritual disciplines were posted September 17a, 18a, and 18d, and October 3a, and 8, 2004 and January 10d and August 27, 2005.

Images about the need for connecting/working with other believers were posted September 18c, 18d , October 3a and 8, 2004.)

Luke 8:4-8, 11-15: A Prayer for Good Soil

Lord, make me into good soil. Break the compacted soil of my soul; transform its hardened clumps into pliable loam. Remove the rocks that hinder your word from taking root in me—the areas of hardness in my heart—and replace them with the compost of your Holy Spirit. And add plenty of it because I can’t bear fruit worthy of you without that rich, sweet, humus.

Give me a good basic dressing from your scripture. Moisten me with your living water, warm me to just the right temperature, and adjust my spiritual Ph to strike the perfect balance between discipline and grace so I can best germinate the seeds you plant in me.

Once those seeds are planted don’t let me get dry, depleted, too hot, or too cold. Irrigate me daily with prayer and time in your word. Side dress me at least weekly with the gathering of your saints and continually cover me with the mulch of your presence.

Lord, keep me weeded, no matter what it takes. Pull those wasteful things out of my life so your good blessings—your humus, nutrients, and moisture—are used for your purposes. Do it quickly before their roots get deep and keep me weeded so I can yield the best possible crop.

Most of all, help me to use these things to bear fruit that pleases you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Images about gardening or soil related themes were posted October 3c, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28, June 11, 13 and 24, 2005.

Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a and 3b, November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.

Images dealing with the importance of exercising the spiritual disciplines were posted September 12, 18, and 18.1, and October 3, 2004 and January 10 and August 27, 2005.)

A String on God's Guitar: What It Takes to Make The Pleasing Music God Wants From Each of Us.

A guitar string is attached to bridge of the guitar, stretched over the body, up the neck, and wrapped around a tuning peg. It’s then tightened it to the right tension to produce a particular tone when pressure is applied. It can either produce a series of solo notes or can combine with other strings to produce chords, either of which can be incredibly pleasing. On the other hand, it can fall out of tune, pleasing know one.

People are a lot like guitar strings and God is the virtuoso who plays them. Let’s see what we can learn from that.

Getting Attached

A guitar string does not come stretched out and attached to the guitar. Instead, it is an individual item, curled up in a shape that makes it useless for its intended purpose. Although it has the innate potential to fulfill that purpose, it’s simply incapable of doing so in its original state.

We are like that before we give our lives to Jesus. We have potential, but are unusable because, in our natural state, we are twisted around ourselves and detached from the things necessary to realize that promise. God must pick us up, straighten us out, and align us with Himself before we can even begin to receive, and give others, the good things He offers. Absent that, we remain twisted, separated, and wasted. The good news—the gospel—is that God is eager to lovingly straighten us out and put us to work by attaching us to his Church. But that’s just the start.

Getting Tuned: Being Attached and Stretched

Merely attaching a string to a guitar does not make it capable of producing pleasing music; it must be tuned. So how does that happen? By being both attached and stretched.

Although being attached is not enough by itself to make us ready to produce engaging sounds, it is essential. Just as a string can’t be stretched into tune unless it is firmly attached to the guitar, we can’t be prepared for what God intends unless we are firmly connected to His body, the Church, and biblical truth, the Church’s foundation.

And we must stay firmly in touch with God as he works in our day-to-day lives. It’s just like a string being fixed to the base of the guitar and wrapped around its tuning peg, following the peg's twists as they are made. Being connected is the only way we can get in tune; there's just no other way.

That results in our being stretched. A guitar string sounds terrible if it is not tightened beyond its natural state; we are inherently off key if we don’t let God tune us. It isn’t natural or easy, but it beats the alternative (wallowing in ineffectiveness) and the results are definitely worth it. It’s painful at times but, to mix metaphors, “no pain, no gain.”

Being Played

That’s not the end of the process because we’re not tuned just for tuning’s sake; we’re tuned so we can yield something beautiful. That only happens if we are played.

Being played requires us to yield to outside pressure. Whether it’s being gently strummed along with others, individually plucked, or really bent to reach a high note, strings only make music when they are struck by the musician. No pressure, no playing and, ultimately, no pleasure. Indeed, some of the most compelling notes are the result of the most extreme pressure.

There's no set pattern to how we are played so we have to be ready for whatever the Musician has in mind. He does not always play the same song so the notes, and hence the pressure, changes over time. And even if a song is reprised, it's rarely played the same way twice. But regardless of the song, God, the Master Musician, knows how much pressure we can take and does not press us beyond that limit; He never breaks a string. And no song goes on forever, giving us breaks between performances.

Playing With Others

We are also like guitar strings in that we have more value with others than by ourselves. A single string can produce a lot of music, but it has a relatively narrow range. But combined with others, it can form an almost infinite variety of chords, each of which can convey uniquely subtle shades of meaning. That only happens when strings are combined. To be sure, there are times when individual notes are best, but most music is based on chords, not single notes.

Chords only happens when multiple strings are combined; they are formed by collections of different notes, made by strings of different thicknesses, tuned to different degrees of tension. In other words, chords can only come out of the harmonious combination of different elements.

It’s the same with us. We can only yield the richness and variety God intends if we work together with others who are different from us.

Getting Out of Tune

Individual strings do get out of tune. That not only makes their solo notes off key, but also degrades any chords they contribute to. That can happen because their connections to their tuning pegs loosen, because they are subjected to vibrations from other noises, or because they have been played to long without a tuning.

Similar things happen to us. We go flat when we aren’t tightly connected to the God’s tuning key and start to revert to our old, discordant, nature. We can also get out of synch if we let other influences (media, unhealthy relationships, and habits, etc.) set us vibrating to their frequencies instead of the pure tone God designed us for. And we can innocently, but undeniably, fall out of tune if we spend so much time doing the work God calls us to that we are unable to spend time with Him in prayer, meditation on scripture, worship, and fellowship with other believers.

But the good news is that we can always be retuned. God is eager to tune us up if we will recognize our need for it by retightening our connection to His tuning peg and letting Him stretch us back into harmony with Him.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; May 11, June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the benefits of eliminating things that distract us from God/His purposes for us were posted September 18d, October 3a and 14, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28 and August 3, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a and 3b, November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.

Images dealing with the need for connecting/working with other believers were posted September 18, 18.1 , October 3 and 8, 2004.)