“Who is God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to you?”

How many times have I heard a well wishing music minister or pastor ask this question from the pulpit? And how many times have I heard the obvious answer “Savior”, or the hearty mention of “Best Friend”, or the endearing cry “Comforter”. Well I am sure it is more than the number of hairs on my head… well maybe not quite that many, but it’s a lot. I’ve sat in many-a service and stubbornly refused to take part in this exercise. My refusal is not out of pure rebellion. No, I refuse because I cannot stomach contrived knowledge of the Holy.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore discovering His many descriptions. I yearn for new revelations of His character… which I (in my finite human state) tend to categorize, label, and name in an attempt to capture some sort of picture of the Truth of who He is. When I take the time to honestly seek and sit in humble silence I get to experience moments filled with God-given pictures, words, emotions, and inexplicable stirrings that lead to ”yada Yaweh” (to perceive and see, find out and discern God intimately). It is in these encounters that I catch glimpses of His magnificence. It is then that I get to inhale the sweet perfume of the Rose (”What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1594).

God relates to me most often through music and in musical terms. God is elusive like music… He can’t be contained, but He can be known through experience. God consumes me like a rich melody. He draws me to Himself through music. I find great joy in the fact that He relates to me through this passion He has placed in my soul. A musical term I often use to to refer to God is Composer. I have trusted and loved God as The Composer of life for a long time. However, in my most recent closet times I had one of those light bulb moments.

I realized that God was no simple composer. He is the Great Orchestrator. God as Orchestrator is my most recent obsession. I am working to apply this truth to the battlefield that is my mind. My greatest battle… trusting the Orchestrator even when I don’t like the way the music sounds, know where it’s going, or think I can play all the right notes.

The explanation… A composer is someone who writes music, any music. An orchestrator writes music for an entire orchestra (about 30 different instruments and 50-100 instrumentalists). An orchestrator must see the big picture… thinking of what the violin will do and how that will meld with what the sax is doing, and where the drums will come in and what tempo they will set for rest of the instruments. Orchestration is a complex art form.

While our lives can be compared to a piece of music, we are not alone in our song. We are a part of The Great Symphony. God’s Symphony for the world He created, for His Purpose, His Fame, and His Enjoyment. We have not heard all the other parts, but our section is important to the entire Symphony. Each flat note… each missed beat… each break we take… affects the rest of the Symphony… and the other instrumentalists. God’s Symphony will be played out to perfection. He has orchestrated every part gracefully. He allows us, the instrumentalists, to choose the line of music we will play, but only the music written by the Great Orchestrator is completely right for us. His Symphony is the only one worthy of being played, heard, and experienced. We, the instrumentalists, can choose to be a part of the orchestra, or we can go solo. We can play our own little song, but it will be sad, weak, empty, and useless. It is crucial that we fix our eyes on the orchestration set before us. We cannot be distracted by the petty little tunes played by those not focused on the Source of Truth and Life.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (*The Orchestrator of our faith), who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:2 (the inserted comment is my own)

Who is He to you?
Do you have an honest answer?
Is your view skewed by the irritating groans of the misguided, unfocused, and selfish?
Are you your own distraction from being able yada Yaweh?