Do Your Thing, Ding-a-ling!
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” Corinthians 12:7
Being a part of a hand bell choir is a rewarding, yet often daunting, experience. Picture nine people standing behind a long line of tables filled with bells. Every ringer plays at least two–one for each hand. Thankfully, you are only responsible for the bells in front of you. A space note in the left hand. A line note in the right. It sounds simple enough, right? But playing your part means finding and following these two notes as they bob up and down in a sea of black ink. Meanwhile, every other ringer at the table is trying to do the same thing! And one mistake can bring EVERYBODY down. It feels like taking a tightrope walk over a waterfall with several of your friends.
“Just play the notes at the proper time and everything will be fine.”
Doris, our brave director.
It seems that playing in a handbell choir is much like being part of a Christian community–the Body of Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul compares the church to a human body whose many parts make up a whole:
“As it is, there are many parts, but one body…If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:20,26
In other words, everyone matters if anyone matters at all.
At this point in your Christian journey, please remember the following:
There are parts of the song that can only be played by you.
So do your thing, ding-a-ling!
“Therefore, dear soul, in this life you are receiving a music lesson from the Father. You are being trained to sing in a choir you cannot see, and there will be parts in the chorus that only you can sing.”
George Matheson
David Duncan is an elementary music teacher in Oklahoma. He has a bachelor’s degree in music from Cameron University, and a master’s degree in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a second master’s in educational leadership.
David is an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He was a full-time minister for 14 years before becoming a teacher in 2004.
He enjoys writing music. In addition to his 39 self-published songs, he also has written 215 blog posts found at the link below. You can find his music videos found at the link below.
Blog: https://davidsdailydose.org/
Music Videos: https://youtube.com/channel/UC3HDgrpsLaCYywrOvknFygA
Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash
What a lovely encouraging analogy David, thank you brother
Thank you, Alan. God Bless you, as well, brother!