Change Starts With You

I see you, out there on the campus quad, playing guitar and singing, in a circle with friends and classmates, in the shade of flag poles and evergreen trees. I’m curious as I walk toward your group, straining to hear what the slight breeze may carry away. As I approach, I notice members of the circle in prayer, arms raised, worshipping, and I make the connection with what I am seeing, what I am hearing.

My immediate thought is: “What’s the point?” Not asked in a callous way, but I am curious as to what you hope to accomplish. Is your goal to let your songs about God and faith and love and grace change the world around you, to bring passers-by to their knees in repentance, to help the unsaved become saved? Is it enough to have one person stop and listen and maybe ask a question or will only a few hundred do? Who (and what) exactly do you hope to change?

Maybe the only person changed is you. In that moment, do you feel just a bit closer to God? Do the waves of your troubled life settle down for a few solemn moments? Is your heartbeat just a little bit louder, the sun just a little bit brighter, the smell of spring on the air just a little bit sweeter? Is it enough for you to put in all the work you do only to have the only person truly, significantly affected… you?

I hope it is. I hope the music has carried you to a better, richer place in your mind and there’s a deeper connection with the unseen and your soul. I hope you walk away, when the last note has been sung, satisfied that it was time well-spent.

I know that as I passed by, thoughts of God and faith and love and grace came to mind, and I’m better for it. Keep playing on.

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