Music of Life: Introduction

There is something thought provoking and exhilirating about a great movie. I'm not talking about great special effects or an all-star cast, nor am I talking about a movie that you walk out of saying, "That was really cool." When I say, "great movie," I'm talking about the kind that draws you into the story so much that you forget you are in a theatre or your own home; in fact, you forget it is a movie altogether. The truly great movies that have storylines that are so captivating that they spark a tear or cause you to speak to the screen or break out in applause. Even if we have seen even only a few movies in our lifetime, we all probably have movies that come to mind even now. The odds are there is not one truly great movie out there that does not also have truly great soundtrack. In all honesty, the soundtrack is basically the core of the movie's captivating power. It sets the stage and draws us in. You can even recall the images of the movie just by hearing the music being played. It's amazing how quickly we can be taken back in our minds to the place in the movie the music is cued and almost relive it again. The music of the soundtrack draws us all into the same place, where we all establish a common ground. For one moment, if no longer, we are all on the same page, and we see things through a common lens.

Now, imagine if the same thing were possible in real life. What if there was a medley of perfectly selected music, blended and orchestrated with unmatched precision, of which our lives could possess as its soundtrack? Take a moment to stop and think about the question. If the story of your life could have the ultimate soundtrack to play along side it, how would that change your life? Even deeper question, how would that impact the lives of those around you? What if the story of life could live well beyond your physical lifespan, just like how movies continue to be available to watch on DVD and video to retell the story over and over again? What if? What if? What if I told you it is possible? What if I told you I believed it was true? And it is.

In what is probably the most popular passage of Scripture, the music is found. Now, it is most likely not going to jump out and bite you or smack you in the face, but it is there seated in 1 Corinthians 13. I'm not going to break down the whole chapter, but rather the final verse. Verse 13 is the key. It states: "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love" (NIV). If you read the whole chapter and even into the beginning of the 14th chapter, you may notice that verse 13 almost seems out of place. This is the only place in the bible that you find faith, hope and love grouped together in one verse like this. Maybe this is all just coincidence, and I am barking up the wrong tree. What if I am not though? All throughout the Bible you find the three intermingled and mentioned one with another. In fact, it is practically impossible to teach on one with out mentioning the others in some fashion. Join me in a walk through the depths of each of these three: Faith, Hope, and Love.