Discipline, Focus and Commitment

When my sons were in high school, music was a significant aspect of their lives and consequently of their parents' lives.  Marching Band, Chamber Choir, Concert Orchestra, Show Choir were all integrated into our daily lives.  However the most enjoyable activity was the competitions.  We witnessed the results of hours upon hours of practice, discipline and focus.  Without a doubt the events that the crowds enjoyed the most were the marching band competitions.  These required early wake-ups, hours of travel and much labor in loading and unloading equipment, but once the kids hit the field, the magic began. 

Recently I received a link to an incredible drum corps.  Of all the competitions that we attended with our boys, I believe that drum and bugle corps were the most impressive.  The video I watched this week was an adult drum corps from Switzerland that was unbelievable.  Take a minute and watch, then come back to reading what the Lord showed me through this performance.  Top Secret Drum Corps

The individuals performing in this event exhibited phenomenal discipline and focus.  More importantly however was the obvious commitment that each one had made to be an integral component of this corps.  It took untold hours of practice time and then the sacrifice of personal vacation time to demonstrate to the world what they had accomplished.  Yet as individualistic as that commitment, discipline and focus were, the impact upon those outside this corps was from the integration of the individual into the whole.  As we watched this performance we weren't watching a single person.  Rather we watched the synchronized movement of hands, drumsticks, matching feet, bending feathers on hats.  We listened to faultless timing in the percussion of all of these drums.  Yes, it was not the individual member, it was the body as a whole that impressed us.

Thus it is with the Body of Christ.  1 Corinthians 12: 12,18-21 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. ....But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."  Imagine what the drum corps would look like if each person did their own thing.  Chaos!  They understand the importance of each person completing their assignment with excellence.  Do we understand the importance of completing our assignment within the Body of Christ?

Sadly as one observes the Body of Christ functioning throughout the world today, there are many mixed messages.  We are fractured, isolated, broken and often confused.  No wonder we are having such a challenge in America bringing the gospel to life.  We have gotten so caught up in the mentality of individualism which now dominates our culture, that we have forgotten how to function as a unified body.  Certainly there are portions of the body which are operating effectively, but we have only to look at amputees and realize that anyone determined will learn how to live in spite of losing body parts.  Do we really believe that God designed His body here on earth to function as an amputee?  I don't.  

What I do realize is that I must take personal responsibility for being fully functional within the body.  This week I came to the realization that I must fertilize and cultivate the fruits of the spirit that are to be the outward product of a life controlled by Holy Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. I was ashamed to contemplate how easy it is for me to exhibit something other than these 9 fruits.  Life, my flesh, the words and actions of others are triggers that bring about the antithesis of these fruits.  So if I am guilty of stepping outside these parameters, how can I possibly be contributing to a unified, synchronized life that impacts the world for Christ?  

Go back to the drum corps and imagine if one of the members decided that He would step off on the opposite foot of everyone else, just because it felt right to him.  Everybody is thrown off. What if suddenly someone decides to throw in a drum solo because he wanted to exhibit his individual talent?  Not only would the sound be distorted, but the tempo is altered.  Now the corps' ears are confused about which beat to follow in marching.  Perhaps this analogy has you asking so?  May I suggest that we each have a responsibility to get in step with the body of Christ to which we have been accepted and embraced.  This is not about us - not about me - in spite of what our culture teaches us.  We are an integral part of the greater body and it is our mandate to discern how God wants to use us.  This is not about our personal agenda.  It is about God's agenda.  He is the master choreographer of our lives and only He knows what this will look like from the stands.  Let us all surrender our egos and fleshly desires to His purposes.