The Triangle in the Orchestra

Kyle Dunn, the college minister at Highland Baptist Church in Waco, spoke tonight on grieving with hope – the hope we have in Christ that all believers will be reunited for the most glorious time of worship. He used this example for our lives on earth:

A triangle is a part of an orchestra. (Kyle proceeded to show just how good he is without having ever had a lesson or play the triangle before, for that matter.) Now imagine a wonderful orchestra is playing a set of five songs for a concert. The triangle player waits patiently in the back with the other percussionists for his part to come. Finally, for the first twenty-two measures of the third song, the triangle plays proudly, setting the rhythm for the rest of the orchestra. The listener enjoys the joyful tone and the music made by the triangle, but not until it has finished its part does the listener miss the triangle. He has played his part, and now it is another instrument’s turn to do its part. The triangle does not know or understand why it only played for the time that it did, other than that was the way the composer wrote his part. All the triangle can see is the music set for him; he cannot see the whole score. However, all the instruments trust that they are a part of something bigger and more beautiful than any one of them could produce on their own. We must not try to see the whole score, for we know not how to read it, and we would not understand it. We must play our part, and to the best of our God-given ability, trusting that we are a part of a bigger and better orchestra.

This illustration touched me because, as my previous post portrays, music is a big part of my life. I worship most fully when I am engaged in music. I can glorify my God by playing my part perfectly, and I learn to do that through my instructor, Jesus Christ, who has shown me how to play my instrument. In the words of one of my good friends, he’s a “Rock ‘n Roll Jesus”. This is my solo, where my composer can, and will, shine.