Being One
Illustration
Stories
David frowned as he reread the passage of scripture. He read it slowly and carefully. He paused and read it one more time. Then he closed his Bible and sighed.
“Is there a problem?” Norma sat down beside him in the back row of the choir loft. “You are usually so calm and focused when you read scripture before choir practice. What’s up?”
“I read before choir in order to get my mind on God and leave behind the day I’ve had.” David held up the Bible in his hand. “I was reading the gospel passage for Sunday and honestly I can’t make sense of it. Jesus prays that we become one just as he and God are one. What does that mean?”
“I think Jesus prays for that a couple of times in the gospels actually.” Norma tapped her chin. “I always thought that it meant that we would work together to do the things that Jesus asks so that we can know God’s will and way.”
David nodded. “I like that. My problem is that when I read it, I start to think that maybe we should all be the same - you know if we all are working in the same way then we will be better able to join our efforts.”
“Let me think about that.” Norma furrowed her brow. “I can see that if you mean that we should all be generous, loving, and serve as Jesus calls us.”
“Now the truth is that is my problem.” David put the Bible down on his lap. “I start to wonder if what Jesus asks for is us to be more like each other. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Does he want us to all be the same? How is that even possible since God created us so different? And if I try to be like you am I ignoring the special gifts that God gives to me? Doesn’t another part of the Bible say we are all given different gifts?”
“Give me a second to sort through all those questions. That’s a lot of things to throw at me all at once.” Norma held up her hand. “Yes, we are told that we are all given different gifts. I’m not sure how that fits into Jesus praying that we are one as he and God are one.”
“Oh.” David paused and took a deep breath. “I guess that I don’t understand how we can all be different and one at the same time.”
“So, you worry that God wants you to be the same as someone else in order to be the best Christian you can be?”
“Exactly.”
“Ah.” Norma looked at her friend. “How many people are in this choir?”
“About twenty.”
“How many sing tenor with you?”
“There are four of us usually.”
“You all sing tenor but do all your voices sound the same?”
David furrowed his brow. “No, but when we sing together our voices blend into one.”
“I think that is what Jesus is praying for - that we work together so that our voices and actions are one.”
“Okay.” David nodded. “That helps a bit.”
Norma reached into her bag and pulled out the music they were practicing for Sunday. “How many parts does this music require?”
“The music is written for a four-voice choir,” David said. “Four different sections singing four different parts.”
Norma held up the music. “Imagine what it would sound like if the tenors were missing.”
“It would not be complete.”
“Absolutely. All of those voices are necessary for the music to be complete or, let me stretch the image a bit, all those parts are necessary for the music to be one. Even though the parts - the bass, tenor, alto, and soprano - are different they all work together to make the music happen.”
David looked at the Bible in his lap. “So, you are saying that when Jesus prays for us to be one as he and God are one, he is not asking for us to be identical or the same but for us to be focused and working together to live out God’s kingdom in this world. Even if we are similar to someone else in our abilities and gifts, God never asks us to be the same but to work in our own way with our own voice and abilities to be part of what God is building.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Norma smiled. “So, are you ready to sing now?”
“I’m ready to practice my part,” David said. “Knowing that my voice is going to add something special and unique to what we are doing.”
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 21, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“Is there a problem?” Norma sat down beside him in the back row of the choir loft. “You are usually so calm and focused when you read scripture before choir practice. What’s up?”
“I read before choir in order to get my mind on God and leave behind the day I’ve had.” David held up the Bible in his hand. “I was reading the gospel passage for Sunday and honestly I can’t make sense of it. Jesus prays that we become one just as he and God are one. What does that mean?”
“I think Jesus prays for that a couple of times in the gospels actually.” Norma tapped her chin. “I always thought that it meant that we would work together to do the things that Jesus asks so that we can know God’s will and way.”
David nodded. “I like that. My problem is that when I read it, I start to think that maybe we should all be the same - you know if we all are working in the same way then we will be better able to join our efforts.”
“Let me think about that.” Norma furrowed her brow. “I can see that if you mean that we should all be generous, loving, and serve as Jesus calls us.”
“Now the truth is that is my problem.” David put the Bible down on his lap. “I start to wonder if what Jesus asks for is us to be more like each other. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Does he want us to all be the same? How is that even possible since God created us so different? And if I try to be like you am I ignoring the special gifts that God gives to me? Doesn’t another part of the Bible say we are all given different gifts?”
“Give me a second to sort through all those questions. That’s a lot of things to throw at me all at once.” Norma held up her hand. “Yes, we are told that we are all given different gifts. I’m not sure how that fits into Jesus praying that we are one as he and God are one.”
“Oh.” David paused and took a deep breath. “I guess that I don’t understand how we can all be different and one at the same time.”
“So, you worry that God wants you to be the same as someone else in order to be the best Christian you can be?”
“Exactly.”
“Ah.” Norma looked at her friend. “How many people are in this choir?”
“About twenty.”
“How many sing tenor with you?”
“There are four of us usually.”
“You all sing tenor but do all your voices sound the same?”
David furrowed his brow. “No, but when we sing together our voices blend into one.”
“I think that is what Jesus is praying for - that we work together so that our voices and actions are one.”
“Okay.” David nodded. “That helps a bit.”
Norma reached into her bag and pulled out the music they were practicing for Sunday. “How many parts does this music require?”
“The music is written for a four-voice choir,” David said. “Four different sections singing four different parts.”
Norma held up the music. “Imagine what it would sound like if the tenors were missing.”
“It would not be complete.”
“Absolutely. All of those voices are necessary for the music to be complete or, let me stretch the image a bit, all those parts are necessary for the music to be one. Even though the parts - the bass, tenor, alto, and soprano - are different they all work together to make the music happen.”
David looked at the Bible in his lap. “So, you are saying that when Jesus prays for us to be one as he and God are one, he is not asking for us to be identical or the same but for us to be focused and working together to live out God’s kingdom in this world. Even if we are similar to someone else in our abilities and gifts, God never asks us to be the same but to work in our own way with our own voice and abilities to be part of what God is building.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Norma smiled. “So, are you ready to sing now?”
“I’m ready to practice my part,” David said. “Knowing that my voice is going to add something special and unique to what we are doing.”
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 21, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
