5 Nov, 2009

Are you playing your part?

Everyone’s a Drummer for This Hybrid Group

Quite a crowdEven before the concert by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Friday night, a steady rush of rattling, whirring sounds, audible in the lobby, emanated from the auditorium. On entering the hall, every member of the audience was given a small Chinese hand drum with beads attached to two strings on the sides. By twirling the drum in your hand, you could produce a loud stream of rat-a-tats.

The plan was for the audience to participate in the climactic episode of the final piece, “The Yellow River Capriccio” by Cheng Dazhao. In anticipation most people tried out their hand drums as they waited for the orchestra players to take the stage.

Before “The Yellow River Capriccio” started Mr. Yan rehearsed the audience of hand drum players, explaining his cues and instructing us to add prolonged shouts to crucial moments of the score. During the performance people in the hall took their assignments seriously, twirling their hand drums, shouting like martial arts warriors and creating a glorious din during the ferocious climax.

Story & picture courtesy of — The New York Times

Psalm 33:3

Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Our lives are much like a song, or a story. We have a beginning, an end, triumphant climactic parts, and tense emotional sections too. In today's story we have a picture of how God wants to involve us in The Story. We're like the audience at Carnegie Hall, invited to not only listen, but to participate in the making of a song, the telling of a story. For Christians, God's Story is The Story, and God is pursuing us, calling us to play a part. God is handing us a drum, asking us not only to sit back and enjoy the story that has been written for us, but to play along, to make music of our own!

As you connect with Jesus and you follow him with your life you will have countless opportunities to share that song with others. Today be encouraged to let that song be heard by those around you. God's Story is one that this world is dying to hear and Jesus is handing you the drum, asking you to play a part in making that story known to the world.

So let the light of Christ, let God's Story be known in how you love others, serve others, and may you "play skillfully" the part that God has given you.

  • What part are you playing in God's story?  Are you  playing it with skill?
  • Is there a "new song" that you'd like to be playing?  Something new you'd like to be doing to serve Jesus?
  • Ask a friend if their life was a story or a song what "part" you play in their life.
  • Ask a friend if their life was a story or a song what "part" God plays in their life.
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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

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