Anyone who has ever been in orchestra or band probably remembers the big black music stands you always used. Well, we had several at BFA, but not enough to accommodate two new orchestras and a new beginning band program all at the same time. So Katie and I, with the approval of the music department, ordered new music stands.
Back at the beginning of the year, the kids put them together as part of a beginning band/orchestra party. Well, the job was only mostly done. Those beautiful black stands have been standing proudly all year long, but anybody could have walked off with them and claimed them as their own! Why? Because they’re plain and black.
Katie and I set out to remedy this problem. Last weekend, we had beautiful weather (it felt almost like Spring, though the snow returned this weekend). We marched the stands outside, plopped a stencil on them, and spray painted BFA on every single one. Bam! We claimed them! Now there’s no mistaking it. These are BFA stands.
We all start out like those blank stands, formed with a purpose but without a name. When we become Christians, God writes His name on our hearts. We look different. We don’t belong to the world any more, we belong to Him. No one can walk off with us; Satan cannot claim us as his children because we have the mark of Christ on us. It is a mark of debts paid in full, divine approval, and legal adoption.
What does that mark look like? Is it as obvious as white paint on a black stand? Or is it as clear as a bright candle burning in the darkness? What sets us apart from the rest of the world?
As those made in God’s image, we should look something like God. Do we bear the fruits of His Spirit living in us (Galatians 5)? Do we each look like a “little Christ”?
Fortunately we don’t look as uniform as those music stands. We all look unique, but we should all have that same “something” inside of us that just looks different than the world around us. Stand firm, and display His Name for all to see!
