I recently purchased for the first time a set of Augustine classical guitar strings. Upon installing them on my guitar, I immediately noticed that when playing an A on the third string, the 5th open A string would also resonate. This phenomenon also occurred with other notes. At first I thought I’d gotten a bad batch of strings. But upon calling the Augustine company and consulting with my guitar orchestra director, I learned this is the sign of a fine set of strings. Wow, I’ve been playing all these years and never knew this.
So what a wonder and a delight it was this morning to read Psalm 37:4 (“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”), and find the following commentary written about this verse:
This is like tuning an instrument and when it is in fine tune, other octaves will sound when a certain note is played. When we tune our hearts to God’s heart, He gives us the desires of our heart.
I can’t think of a finer image of what it means to commune with God, and to be in the center of His will! When my heart is in tune with God’s, I “resonate” with every beat of His heart. In such a state, I cannot help but respond to His will for my life.
Suddenly the words of Irenaeus, a historical disciple of John the Beloved, disciple of Jesus, sprang to life:
“The glory of God is man full alive, and the life of man consists of beholding God.”
Human beings are fully alive when we are beholding God; and in doing so, God’s glory shines brightly in and through us. I spent some time this morning thinking about what it means to “behold” God. While behold is usually a verb (to behold), it does not incite me to action in the sense of motion, but rather a state of being. To gaze upon or think deeply about, be enraptured with or engulfed in, give full attention to…these all lend to the sense of what it means to behold something or someone. To behold the invisible God presents some challenges, but with practice it can be done. And what bountiful fruit it will yield—a “me” that is fully alive.
May you and I resonate with God today, and the rest of the year. May we in one accord glorify God in thought, word and deed!