Take time to Get to Know God! ...

Sat, Jan 2, 2016. When you want to play piano, you need time to get into it. It starts with attraction, usually. You see the instrument. You hear people play. You say to yourself: that is what I also want to be able to do. It starts with the love of music, with the love of melody, of harmony, of the complex interplay of different tunes and lines and beat and the shape of sound.

Take time to explore …

When you want to learn to play piano, it starts with fascination. And then, you need to sit down at the instrument. You need to try to press a key. A sound comes. You press another key. Another sound rings. Can you play piano already? Yes, you can - but this is very limited in its capabilities. You want to play a melody, you take one of your fingers, and press several keys in a row. One by one. A melody comes, but it does not yet sound fluent.

A piano player would not take one finger only, but use many fingers. He or she would use both hands. He moves the hand in a particular way! Who can show you, you need help, you need a teacher, you need practice and exercise. Learning to play an instrument needs time. You need time to explore the instrument. You need time to go, step by step, through some simple songs, then more complex songs. You start with some melody, and with some harmonies. You need to put them together. Learn how to learn!

When it comes to faith, the image of the piano player is a very good one. Faith starts with fascination: I want to get to know God. It starts with the love of more, of perspective, of kindness and peace. But then, it is as with the piano. At the beginning, you do not know much. You might be able to press a key - as if you would be able to go into some church building. Is that faith already? It might be, yes. If you come to the Lord to get to know him, you have already gone steps of faith! But that does not mean you would be able to do it yet in a more realistic way. It does not mean you would be able to play the melody of faith, or its harmonies. Let us listen to the first psalm:

Joy in the Biblical Texts …

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1)

God wants you and me to be such a tree, planted by the streams of his eternal water. He wants us to flourish. He wants us to be blessed and to do well. To get there, the writer of this Old Testament song calles us to delight in the law of the Lord. That means to search in the biblical texts, in the scriptures. It means to listen, and to do. It means to take time, to learn how to play the melody of faith.

The melodies and harmonies of faith are fantastic. The biblical texts are great. When you start to understand, joy comes. You do not need a deep academic education, to get to know the Lord. You need an open heart and mind. You need the will to do, what you hear. You only need his grace, you need to let the Holy Spirit into your mind and your heart. Then, a new type of joy will grow, a new type of life! And you will sing for joy. (RWEP) ... more texts