by Brian Jones
TECUMSEH, MI – I am not particularly good at it. And no, this is not false humility, I really can’t… sing, that is.
It’s not that I can’t sing in a particular key, it is just that I sing in all of them, on every song, and at any given moment; but that doesn’t stop me from singing at church. (No, not leading in music, I am pretty sure there are Geneva Convention restrictions against that.)
However, when the body is gathered together to join in song to the Creator of the universe, I sing happily and joyfully; just not well. And believe it or not, this makes me think about Mother’s Day.
As a kid, did you ever take flowers to your mom? Especially on Mother’s Day? You just wanted to find some way to express how much she meant to you, and flowers seemed like a good choice.
And my guess would be that if you were a typical kid without a lot of money, then you probably didn’t bring her a dozen red roses. You probably did the best you could. And what you may have done, like so many other kids, was to look for flowers that were readily available. Something you could pick from the yard.
And unless you lived on a golf course, you probably had several little yellow flowers in your yard. You know the ones that are so much fun to play with. Eventually they turn into white little puff balls that are far too enjoyable to blow after you pluck them from the ground. It is almost impossible not to do it when you see them.
And most kids, at some point in time, have pulled one from the ground and presented it to mom with love and devotion. And mom, heart swelling with emotion, promptly lectured the child that it is not, in fact, a flower but an invasive weed that does not belong in the yard.
No, she didn’t do that. She grabbed a teacup and put the dandelion in it as if it were a beautiful rose or tulip or lily. Why? Was it her lack of horticultural knowledge? Maybe, but probably not.
Most likely it was because she understood the heart of the one bringing this gift. That her child was bringing a present, an offering, that is the best that they could bring, because of their love for mom.
Our singing should be similar; it should be the best that we can bring; whatever that is. Far too often I see people who are reluctant to sing because they don’t sound like Celine Dion or Josh Groban. But God commands us to sing whether we have angelic voices or not.
We are commanded to sing for our good and for His glory. We are commanded to sing because it shows our love and devotion to Him.
So, bring your offering of voice. Bring your gift of song. Sing to the One who created you. Sing to the One who redeems you. Sing to your heavenly Father. Sing like you are bringing a little yard weed to mom on Mother’s Day, because you are singing out of love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Jones is pastor of Tecumseh Missionary Baptist Church. He earned his Master of Divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.