Covenant Presbyterian Church

Life has many seasons. There are periods of great exertion, full of youthful vigor, dreams, and goals. Great responsibilities are eagerly accepted. In the parenting years, children’s needs dominate: discipline, education, preparation to serve God and man. Mid-life work is undertaken with the realization that the years are passing quickly, strength not what it once was, the elder days coming. Each period is punctuated with seasons of joy and sadness, victory and defeat, weariness and strength, health and sickness. Because of the great diversity of the human experience sustaining a sense of purpose is challenging. We seem to be the strummed rather than the strummer of our lives. Yet herein lies the great truth, often ignored or forgotten but able to encourage and maintain us. Our lives are a symphony of God’s grace.

A great symphony is composed of multiple movements between which the tempo, tone, and instrumentation vary. The composer’s theme rises and falls with complexity. No great symphony is monotonous. This is a striking difference between popular music and the canon of great western music. Popular music is initially entertaining, but inevitably boring. It is the same throughout - the baseline, a few chords, a repetitious chorus, third grade linguistics. As music reflects the thinking of a people, it is not surprising that pop music is preferred by our discontented, lost, and searching culture. We do not have a taste for symphonies, because they more accurately reflect the human condition and challenge our materialistic assumptions: rising and falling emotions, unity amid diversity, complexity. One movement or chorus will not suffice. But unbelieving man rebels against this. He would rather sing blithe ditties than embrace the reality of God’s symphony. He thinks life should be fun and simple - always. He would kill the composer and write his own composition. It is jarring, fragmented, and boring.

To say that our lives are a symphony of God’s grace means that we must remember to whom we belong. The adage, "You can be whatever you want to be," is sheer folly. A man will only be what God intends to make of him. This is not to deny human responsibility but to place it in proper perspective. Human responsibility is not autonomy; it is a believing use of means and a pious fulfillment of those duties God has revealed in his word. It also means that we cannot ignore that God’s ways are inscrutable. In his people, he is constantly working out his lovely theme of grace through Jesus Christ. In pain and sorrow, the movement is slower, more passionate, with an underlying theme of his omnipotence in our weakness. In joy and victory, the movement may be lighter and faster, but never giddy, unmindful that his goodness is designed to lead us to repentance and faithfulness. However God is writing the symphony of your life, he is the wise, loving, and gracious composer. His present orchestration of your life may not be rapturous, but it is necessary to make the whole, to complete his work, to make you beautiful and holy in Christ.

Symphonies vary in their quality. Some are majestic, filled with heavenly strains that elevate the soul. Others are light and airy. Some are heavy, troublesome, reflecting agitation in the soul of the composer. This is life. It is immature to think that our lives will always be the same, or that every believer will have the same experience of grace. You may reflect upon your life and identify with the heavy and troublesome. You affirm with Job: "Man was born for trouble as the sparks fly upward." Or perhaps God strums your soul with majestic themes, high and lofty thoughts of the richness of his grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. Do not try and escape God’s particular composition of your life. He knows what he is doing, and none of us will appreciate his work fully until we reach the final movement. And we must not complain or begrudge others whose lives seem more beautiful and orderly. True faith rejoices in the diversity of God’s work among his people. Those that seem more blessed must not look down upon those whose lives seem more difficult. They are necessary for God’s total work, to remind every believer to take nothing for granted, to use this life without abusing it, to labor for the attainment of heavenly citizenship, where God’s beautiful symphony will be displayed in all its glory through Jesus Christ.

Death is one part of God’s symphony. It is an odd movement. The believer finds himself between two worlds, two symphonies. He is loathe to leave the earthly chords of family, friendship, and vocation. His flesh, against which he must constantly fight, endeavors to tie him to this particular strain. But he also hears the heavenly melody: to depart and be with Christ is better by far. At times, he knows not what movement to hum. He is caught between the two. But when it is time to die, the heavenly always wins. Christ is always better. Everything he holds dear below is safe in the hands of the composer above. He can depart confidently, not with melancholy and fear but with joy and anticipation. He is about to hear the concluding movement of God’s symphony of grace.

And thus we must always remember that God’s symphony is never complete in this life. Sometimes we are tempted to think it is. One movement of our lives ends: youth, parenting, marriage, work. But the music continues. Its full orchestration awaits the dawning of the glorious morning when Christ shall appear in glory. We will be strummed by the Shepherd with chords of eternal gladness. And each will contribute his portion. Some will play of God’s faithfulness and strength. Others will play of God’s grace that finally overcame a besetting sin. All will play of God’s love and mercy through Jesus Christ. And the symphony of God’s grace will renew the heavens and earth in perfection, echo through eternity, and be joyfully celebrated by the Church victorious.

We now hear this conclusion of God’s symphony faintly. The chords of sin sometime seem more real. The battles we fight for the kingdom and glory of Jesus Christ so immerse us in this life that we do not pause often enough and hear the voice of the Maestro, our victorious Savior, singing praise to the Father in the midst of his church, encouraging its members to persevere and labor for the only song that lasts. Love of this life clogs our ears so we cannot hear the angels playing their part of the symphony: worthy is the Lamb. We are weighed down, oppressed, burdened. We must pause and hear the heavenly strains wafting upon the instrument of faith - not leading to romantic wistfulness, earthly separatism, or mystical piety - but to earthly faithfulness, spiritual vigor, historical confidence in the victory of Christ’s kingdom. God’s symphony of grace is our anthem, our assurance, our daily strength to persevere.