Close Harmony

My roots go deep into southern gospel music. I started singing as soon as I could talk. My mom and dad were in a quartet at church when they were young and newly married. Well, my dad sang until he had been married long enough to make my mom happy, then he quit. But my mom and aunts were singers. And my sister and I sing and would like to sing together if we didn’t have about 500 miles between us .I love the close harmony of four people singing four different parts that come together to make beautiful sounds. I just love it. And you can giggle all you want behind your hand but I’ve picked out quartet people in heaven I want to sing with for about a thousand years or more.

I have been excited in my Bible study of Colossians 3:12. I have taken each word apart and….I won’t bore you with details of my study but I’ve had southern gospel quartet close harmony fun.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones (*here are the group of singers,) holy and beloved (*God loves the sound of :) compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

(*My own thoughts about the verse)

1.    Compassionate hearts: deep feelings of God’s love for someone’s difficulty  or misfortune and understanding how God can use you to help that individual

2.    Kindness (useful kindness): meeting real needs in God’s way, in His timing, by His Spirit’s leading without any form of selfish greed or cruelty. It’s a word we don’t really have in our language –this unselfish kindness with no ulterior motives

3.    Humility and Meekness: gentle strength that begins with God’s inspiration and finishes with submission to His direction and empowerment putting others before ourselves

4.    Patience: waiting without fear, worry, stress, or anxiousness and staying steadfast in our desire to please God with every action

When these spiritual character qualities come together…Well, can you just imagine the harmony? When we put love, unselfish kindness, humility, submission, and steadfast waiting on God together in one person all working in that person at the same time…Well, stand back Bill and Gloria! (Only true gospel quartet lovers will get this.) And when we put a group of God’s people together all unified in these character qualities… Well, Gospel Singing Jubilee! (I told you my roots run deep.)

This is the close harmony of God’s people living Godly lives beside each other pointing a lost world to Jesus Christ. People with an understanding of God’s heart showing God’s heart to others. We are to have these God given qualities all together as one harmonious sound that reaches to the ends of the earth.

The other name for this close harmony of God’s people is…

 

wait for it …

His Church