Christian Discipleship Lesson from a Blind Marching Band
In a previous blog post (You Can Have a Personal Relationship with God), I said that one of the best things about Christian discipleship is that you have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with God. Just like any relationship, trust is a necessary element for making the relationship work. Even with God, trust is something that must be developed over time.
One of my favorite illustrations of trust is a band I saw in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day 2010. As usual, the floats were beautiful and the bands were superb. But what impressed me the most in that parade was the marching band from Ohio State School for the Blind.
When they came on the screen, I was in the kitchen, just listening as the announcer described what group was coming next. When he said “School for the Blind”, I rushed back to the TV to see how this was possible — blind teenage musicians marching in a parade. As it turns out, each blind teenager had an adult walking behind him with a hand on his shoulder to guide his steps.
What trust had to be involved in that situation? What effort was put into building the relationships between each teen and each adult? How many hours had the teens devoted to learning to play the music, learning how to march with someone guiding them, and then doing both at the same time?
Developing your personal relationship with God is a lot like what each of those blind teens went through with their adult guides. It involves self-discipline to devote the time and effort to develop trust and the ability to recognize subtle signals. It involves stepping outside of your comfort zone to try something new and maybe scary.
The beginning of the new year is traditionally a time of self-evaluation and goal setting. It’s a good time for each of us to examine our relationship with God and to decide if we’re satisfied with that relationship, or if we need to plan to put in some extra time and effort in the coming year.
Maybe this is a good time to commit to a more dedicated prayer life, to start a spiritual journal, to decide to read the Bible cover-to-cover, or to adopt any similar focused, intentional way to approach God every day. Any one of these disciplines will strengthen your Christian discipleship and bring you into a closer relationship with God.
In the Gospel of John the author uses the metaphor of light when he describes the son of God. “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). One of the many possible interpretations of this metaphor is to say that the light of Christ is what guides us. It makes it possible for us to see where we are going.
God is waiting for you to accept the light he has to offer. He wants to put his hand on your shoulder and guide you. He may be guiding you already, but you can always get closer. He’s just waiting for you to take the next step. He wants your commitment this year. He’s waiting for you to put in the effort, the discipline, and the practice to learn to trust him — just like those blind band members.
How will you respond?