The Tuning Fork of the Soul
By Tony Reinke
Successful Christian living is very much about steadiness
and consistency, about firm resolve and steadfast endurance. There’s more to
the Christian life, but these remain certain marks of God’s Spirit at work. And
yet we feel the circumstances of life trying to swing us from despair to
delight. When circumstances grow dark and we take our eyes off the Savior, we
lose our balance and swing toward despair. When life seems to be going well and
we take our eyes off Christ, we swing towards blissful God-forgetfulness
certain to end in sorrow.
Contemplating this swinging, wobbly, fallen but redeemed
heart is what led the Puritans to talk about a joy in the all-satisfying Christ
as the unchanging tuning fork hum for the Christian life.
The heart, let’s say, is a violin — a beautiful and
delicate instrument made to make beautiful pleasing notes in the ear of its
Maker. Previously stringless and useless, now refurbished in Christ, the violin
fluctuates daily, finds itself so often out of tune, expands and contracts by
the humidity or dryness of the seasons and the situation. Every day, several
times throughout the day, the soul must be re-tuned again.
Joy in God is the pitch for our lives. Every day, several
times throughout the day, the soul must be re-tuned again. But joy is the aim.
Always Rejoicing
This metaphor is especially striking when we assume our
screeching, scratching tuneless heart-conditions cannot be justified by our
circumstances. Rejoicing in God is a 24/7 command. The pitchfork hum is the
sound of Philippians 4:4 — “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
rejoice.”
This means joy transcends circumstances, and prepares us
for what’s to come our way in life, writes Puritan Richard Sibbes. Here’s how
he said it in a sermon:
What is our life without joy? Without joy we can do
nothing. We are like an instrument out of tune. An instrument out of tune it
yields but harsh music. Without joy we are out of joint. We can do nothing well
without joy, and a good conscience, which is the ground of joy. Without joy we
cannot suffer afflictions. We cannot die well without it. Without joy, and the
ground of joy, we can neither do, nor suffer, anything.1
This is why joy is the pitchfork hum we aspire to live in
without ceasing. Joy is how we gauge the spiritual condition of our souls. Joy
is the aim. Joy is the goal. Joy in God is the tuning fork for our hearts, and
our shared joy is a mutual symphony to our Maker’s glory. Joy is not the
frosting over the highlights of our lives, it’s the tune God intends for our
24/7 lives.
The Marrow
Another Puritan, Stephen Charnock, notes that the command
to rejoice precedes the command to pray, indicating in his mind that God
expects us to address him with a certain joy (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16–17). Of
course God also wants us to draw near to him when we desire joy and don't feel
it. But Charnock’s point is well taken. If God wants us to rejoice first, then
draw near to him — if joy is the ideal condition God wants to be addressed —
then of course, “delight is the marrow of religion.”2
It is. Joy in God is at the center of the Christian
experience now, and will be for all eternity. Joy in God is at the heart of the
gospel. Joy in God drives us to evangelism and missions. Joy in God makes
enduring trials and pain possible. Joy in God is the expulsive power of a new
affection that drives out the loving affections we naturally have for sin. Joy
in God is the mutual aim of our fellowship. The Christian life, from start to
finish, centers on joy in God, it’s the marrow of religion, it is the note we
tune our souls to every day and every hour.
And that’s what Desiring God http://www.desiringgod.org is all about. Don't imagine
Desiring God is a group of people who live in permanent perfect pitch harmony
with joy in God. We're not. Think of Desiring God (the blog, the sermon
archive, the free books, the thousands of articles, and everything else here),
as a Scripture-centered tuning fork, always here and available for you in this
one great and glorious end — your greatest satisfaction and God’s greatest glory.
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