I remember a movie a long time ago when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a comedy team. Jerry’s character was playing in a football game and, of course, when he got the ball, he ran the full length of the field in the wrong direction, making a goal for the other team. He obviously didn’t understand the rules of the game very well. In any sport you have to understand exactly what is expected of each player and how that fits with the whole team.

Being in a choir (i.e. congregational choir) is something like being a member of a sports team, in that there are certain things you must do to be part of the whole “team”. Imagine what would happen to that musical ensemble if everyone decided to do things just as they wanted. Suppose, for instance, one person, who perhaps had a degree in music, decided to sing the hymn in a different tempo from everyone else. Or suppose an entire section of the congregation decided to sing a different hymn!  Utter chaos!

Jesus was talking about just such people, those who professed to be doing work in His name but did not understand who He was and what He was all about. Jesus asks us for our obedience in serving Him, putting our lives in His hands, believing in who He is, and living our lives in response to that faith.

When a choir or congregation follows the music director and trusts in the director’s judgment, the music produced will be harmonious music. When we follow and trust the direction of Christ in our lives, then we will have harmony in our daily living as Christ would have us.