Complete Harmony

ByJim Stephens

Reading: Romans 15; Psalm 86

5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. (Romans 15:5–7 NLT)

It “sounds to me” as if Paul is picturing the Christians in Rome, the Community of believers there, like an orchestra about to play a symphony of praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

  • Each musician in the orchestra has a special instrument (gift). Each musician has learned to play skillfully and creatively the unique sounds that their instrument is designed to produce. Each musician has learned to follow the score, to follow the conductor, and to play in “Complete Harmony” with the others.
  • Someone leads! There is a Conductor who decides what symphony the orchestra will play, how loudly or softly they will play it, and at what tempo it will be played. 
  • The Conductor assigns each skilled musician a very specific part to play in the symphony—specific notes to play at a specific time in a specific tempo.
  • Some instruments will play the melody, a thread of music that runs through the entire tapestry of the symphony, giving the music a specific theme, a message.
  • Some instruments will play harmonies that seem to float above the melody, some will play harmonies that flow beneath the melody.
  • Together, they will rise and fall, ebb and flow, and the sound they produce together, under the conductor’s direction, will be a beautiful expression of the composer’s vision.

Picture yourself as a skilled, gifted musician in your own very specific orchestra (your family, your small group, your ministry team, your company, your department, your local church, your agency, your Band of Sisters and Brothers).

Let’s pray this prayer together for our own orchestra, our own symphony.  Will you pray with me?

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help us live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of us can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we accept each other just as Christ has accepted us so that God will be given glory.  In Jesus’ Name and for the Glory of his Kingdom, Amen!