Learning the Notes (Friday Devotional)

 

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.

- Hebrews 6:1

In high school, after working my way through the catalogues of musicians like B.B. King, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, I made a snap decision: I was going to learn to play the harmonica. I loved its bluesie sound, its humble roots, and, not incidentally, how much cheaper it was than an electric guitar. And, maybe because of its size, I had a sneaking suspicion it was an easier instrument to learn than those my friends lugged around for marching band. With a few minutes of practice per day, I was convinced I’d be joining a blues group in no time.

So with a cheap harmonica in hand, I headed out to our garage, where the sounds of my practicing wouldn’t disturb anyone, put my lips to the metal, and blew. I went at it for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, trying to get a feel for the instrument, before finally scowling and returning to my bedroom, the harmonica abandoned on top of the garage fridge. It turns out, the harmonica was just like any other instrument—learning it was going to take time, effort, and patience.

Life in Christ, it turns out, is a lot like learning the harmonica. The mistaken impression many have upon believing Jesus is Lord is that you’ve got it all figured out, that all that remains to be done is to apply what you know and tell others about it. The gospel, after all, is simple enough, right?

But the truth is that, while the gospel is easy to understand, accept, and explain, life is not—and so life in Christ winds up being more a journey of sanctification than just a moment of salvation. For all the joys of those early days of faith, there are even greater joys to be found in maturity, when you’ve better learned to connect the timeless truths of doctrine with the varying situations of experience.

Walking with Christ is a lifetime commitment, one that requires not only the passion and excitement of conversion, but also the patience and wisdom of sanctification. It takes time to learn the notes—but practice makes perfect.