Perfect pitch

All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ERV)

While it is very important to remember all scripture is given to help us correct what is wrong in our lives, it is not to be used to beat people up with. The desire to use scripture to point out the faults of another is not what is intended here. The "pointing out" is really the job of the Holy Spirit - the helping another to learn part is where we come alongside and walk out that learning together.

Most of the time, we forget that learning is all about us walking out what we are given instruction to do. Having a hymnal doesn't equate to singing the songs correctly - especially if you don't actually read notes or understand rhythm or beat. If I have heard the hymn often enough, I may have a better chance of actually singing it according to how it is written, but the notes still mean very little to me. Why? I am not "schooled" in music.

There are a good number of biblical teachings I am not "schooled" in, but I am able to read them just like I could read the words of a song in the hymnal. The teachings don't have exactly the same meaning until someone helps me grasp the content of the teaching. This comes not only in instruction, but in example. When I hear the song and how it is supposed to be sung, I can "imitate" the song without really totally understanding a single note on the page. Sing that song often enough with me as it should be sung and I will eventually get a better understanding of the counting of beats and the meaning of the notes.

If you were to tell me to hit an F-sharp I probably couldn't even get close. If you were to hit that pitch yourself and then I were to "match" that pitch, I would eventually appreciate the tone of the note. What I needed was the example - the ability to hit the note was there all along, but I didn't appreciate the note as "matching" the F-sharp on the page until someone sung it for me. Christ was our first example of "perfect pitch". In turn, he showed his disciples how to imitate that "pitch". 

Now it is our turn to "match the pitch" in our own lives. We do this as a team - walking this learning and understanding together - following the examples we have been given. The more closely we listen to Christ, the more we are able to "hit the note" in our lives. Just sayin!