Have you ever considered the gift and beauty music is, not only to mankind, but especially to the people of God? It is a vast gift that should be treasured! Can you imagine a world without music or a world in which there was only one kind of music? Just consider the endless variety and giftedness God has given in music! I was thinking about this the other day as I was driving home listening to some great worship music just recently put out by Sovereign Grace Music.
I had a friend recently say “The older I get the more I like just a piano and a hymnal.” I can certainly understand where he is coming from. However, I must admit I hold a different view. The older I get, the more I have grown to appreciate the wide variety and giftedness we have in music. I have grown to enjoy the beautiful symphonies of Joseph Haydn and the driving drums of Rend Collective. I enjoy the flowing piano of Jennifer Thomas and the melodic hymns of Fernando Ortega. I have also grown to enjoy the new things musicians are bringing to the table in the realm of Christian music. Artists like Keith and Kristyn Getty, Selah, Rend Collective, and Steven Curtis Chapman are finding creative and beautiful ways to proclaim the truths of God in musical form. For those of us who grew up on the Imperials and Steve Green, we can certainly say Christian music has come a long way!
There is no doubt we all have our musical preferences and that is okay. However, let us be humble in these preferences and realize God is not restricted to our preferences. Let us rejoice in the variety of music God has given. Let us rejoice in the variety of gifts God has given others in music and be thankful that God has been giving us music since the beginning of time in every culture on earth!