Name That Tune

You may remember the popular TV show that ran from the 1950s to the 1980s called Name That Tune. Obviously, given its prolific span of running time, the show was a great success. I can understand why, too, because it was one of those game shows that people could play along with from their own living room. The objective of the game was to be able to name the title of a song in the fewest number of notes possible, using what is called a “sound bite.” There was also a hint given about the song itself, for the sake of context. The best contestants were able to rightly name the song in one or two notes. Incredible. Thank God it was just a game, huh? Imagine if we had to discern things that really mattered in life on such little data?

In general, sound bites are used to summarize something previously recorded. A key benefit of sound biting is that it can be used as an advertising “hook,” enticing listeners during commercial breaks to tune into an entire program later on. A common application of sound biting is in politics, where speeches are analyzed and then chopped up into myriad pieces, summarizing specific points made by the orator. For example, “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” Most immediately recognize this quote from President Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961. This “hook” might persuade you to listen to Kennedy’s famous speech. Sound bites like this one can be very powerful communication tools; however, there are caveats.

Sound bites are great if the audience has an idea of the context. In the absence of context, sound bites can be easily misconstrued. Even worse, in the presence of evil, this may be done on purpose! Have you seen the way American politicians and their pet media outlets use sound bites against their opposition? It’s disgusting. But, you know, it’s still only politics. It’s a proposition requiring careful consideration when it comes to spiritual ministry. Allow me to explain…

As a pastor with good, honorable intentions towards God’s children, my end goal is as Holy Scripture states, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). That’s right, the goal of my instruction is love (the rest of the verse describes the origins of this love). The key to this love is that it can only emanate from a heart that has been washed clean, purified. It is expressed from a conscience that is good by God’s standards and a faith that exists without hypocrisy. Given the natural estate of mankind, born in sinful flesh, depraved to the core, this love is indeed a lofty goal. Thankfully, it isn’t mine to impart - only God can do this good work in a person. But He tells me that I can play a part, nonetheless.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
My heart has been touched, forever altered, by the love of God. Here’s a sound bite for you: “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). If there is any way, at all conceivable, to partake in another person’s deliverance unto this godly love, I desire to be a part of it. As “God’s fellow worker,” there’s nothing sweeter for a man in possession of my spiritual gift. A person abiding in godly love is immovable, resolute, unflappable. What a gift! “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). The shepherd in me only wants the sheep, especially those under my charge, to abide in love. If you are to know anything about me, you should know this one unerring truth.

Don’t just take the sound bite. Know that this amazing love comes at a price, namely death, to be precise. Death to self. It is painful at times, confusing, and yet absolutely necessary for sanctification.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”
To be purified is to be sanctified, set apart for God’s purposes. This means to be set apart for love; for love encapsulates the will of God, “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10b). “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). We are not born lovers of the law of God. In fact, we are born antagonistic to it. Therefore, the aforementioned purification process (ref: 1 Timothy 1:5) requires time and energy. The Bible also teaches that we will suffer while it occurs in us. Suffering is a fundamental part of sanctification. As in the case of metallurgical purification, extreme heat must be applied in order for the slag to be scraped off and cast away. We might consider the “slag” in our spiritual walks as remnants of our sinful lifestyles, as Peter described:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
Holiness and godly love (and byproducts, like happiness) are simultaneous experiences. A person cannot have one without the other. To state it more practically, from a shepherd’s perspective (ala Ephesians 4:11-12), the good work of holiness/godliness must be wrought in a believer before godly love is fully amplified in them. Once produced, there is contentment in life, “But godliness with contentment is great gain,” (1 Timothy 6:6). What I’m trying to convey to you, my beloved, is this:

I just want you to know the love of God. That’s the sound bite of my choosing. The greater context is that I’ll do anything, sacrificing my own life, to reach this end. I just want you to be happy knowing the love of God. This cannot happen unless you willingly go through the purification process.

Please don’t sound bite me carelessly along the way, as some have done in the past, taking snippets of heavy-handedness out of context. Please don’t misconstrue my purpose just because you are suffering the typical throes of purification, especially when it is painful. Remember, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). I’ve been and continue to go through the same suffering, my friends. Don’t fall victim to the lies about men who stand behind pulpits simply doing as they are led by the Spirit. Resist the temptation. “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Peter 5:9).

I don’t ask these things on my own behalf, but yours. My fear is that some of you do not see the forest through the trees; rather, you focus on the man, catching a mere sound bite of a message or a blog like this on occasion, never truly committing to the curriculum the Holy Spirit has authored through this ministry. My fear is that you forget my heart, that I love both the Lord and you in such a way that I only wish to serve, Him and you, as well. If I’m miserable, cranky, and apparently ornery from time to time, then exercise a little compassion and understanding. Remember, we all bear a cross; mine can be particularly heavy at times. I know yours can, too, and I respect that. I seek unity, in love. If that means for a time I’m irritating to you, then feel free to grind your teeth at me - just don’t quit like so many have over the years, pointing to this or that sound bite for the sake of ill-conceived justification. “So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth” (Galatians 4:16)?

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Name That Tune was a lot of fun. But, it had its place as a game show. Sound bites are fine, but only in the presence of context and knowledge. Sound biting a pastor like myself is risky business, my friends. The evil among us will use this device to discredit the Lord’s good work through me. In the absence of sound thinking, is it possible your own flesh might do this to you? Is it possible that you, as a matter of convenience to your flesh, only catch the first or last few “notes” of a key message? Is it then possible that you become like the evil ones among us, judging wrongly the name of my “tune”, spreading strife rather than unity in our faith? All of this would be to your own demise. Please be careful of the vector you find yourself on. Always seek context. I love you, remember that.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins