Living in harmony with God's will

I was sitting in the Big Barn at Renfro Valley, Ky., earlier this year when two thoughts about God's blessings almost simultaneously overwhelmed me.

My family was taking in a concert by the Oak Ridge Boys for the first time in several years. The break was simply because I had lost much of my hearing 20 years ago and, as much as I had loved listening to the Oaks before then, I had never justified spending money on tickets for something I did not think I would be able to enjoy.

I had undergone cochlear implant surgery in 2003, but that did not help much when it came to music. However, when I received a second implant, making my hearing binaural, in 2010, I started seeing vast improvements in understanding and hearing music. I had even purchased a few CDs and had been to a solo concert by another favorite, gospel singer Guy Penrod.

Sitting about 10 rows from the stage, I began to hear Joe, Duane, William Lee and Richard in that incredible four-part harmony that I had grown to love even as a 1970s teen. I was amazed at the technology that had been developed that not only simply allowed me to understand speech, but had taken things much deeper. I can enjoy the music I cherish and can honestly tell my daughter, who is learning to play the clarinet, “Hey, that sounds good!”

The next day, I sent an e-mail to my audiologist at the University of Kentucky, telling her, “You won't believe this, but I could actually pick out all four parts they were singing!”

As Jerry Clower used to say, “Ain't God good!!”

During the middle of the show, the Oaks sang a spine-chilling a capella version of the old hymn, “Farther Along.”

Farther along, we'll know all about it

Farther along, we'll understand why

Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine

We'll understand it, all by and by.

It was vintage Oaks, singing in harmony about living in harmony with God's will

(I became a huge fan of the Oaks when a friend let me listen to their “Light” album in the summer of 1973. Not long after that, I saw them in concert at Lafayette High School in Lexington, Ky. The crowd was probably less than 150 people, but man, what an afternoon of gospel music. I ran across this YouTube video of how they sounded – and looked – singing one of my favorite gospel songs. Love the sport coats!  The band has completely changed, but the singers are the same, except Joe Bonsall has replaced Willie Wynn on tenor. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60GJgTSiKtA )

Now, back to the main thought.

I believe it is important live in harmony in at least four areas: Self, family, others and, most importantly, God.

Too many people do not live in harmony with themselves. They wander along aimlessly, searching for answers in life, often miserable even when successful in the world’s eyes. I am often amazed at how often people think money, things or power will bring happiness. It just doesn’t happen.

Family values are constantly under attack today on many fronts. Divorce is rampant. I know, I have been through it and been through the pain. Many families that stay together do so despite dysfunction or chaos. That can’t be what God intended for us.

Being civil in our world is almost a forgotten virtue, it seems. Try driving in any major city at rush hour if you disagree!

I could go on and on but the answer to living in harmony with ourselves and with others is to live in harmony with God.  Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  When we understand and act upon the fact that we are a wonderful creation of God with a purpose to serve Him, we can start living as He intends.

When we put God first in our families, such as what is written in Ephesians 5 “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” we can have the kind of home life we are intended to have.

The same holds true with our relationships with each other. In Matthew 22, Jesus says the first commandment is to love God with all our heart, mind and soul and the second is to ‘'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We are all imperfect people and fall short of what God intends.  Living in harmony can only come when we realize it is by God’s Amazing Grace we can have meaning in our lives.

Today, the Oaks are still singing about that too.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNDNTo7SNFQ 

(All Scripture quotations are from The New International Version.)