Back Stage at the Met

Back stage at the Met

I once had the privilege of going backstage just before a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Before the curtain went up, dozens of individuals walked about in the wings, doing vocal exercises. Completely oblivious of others, each singer concentrated on his own voice; the result was piercing discord. We are all familiar with a similar effect in the tuning­up of orchestra instruments before a concert.

Too often the bystander in the world looks upon the church as a group of frivolous amateurs, each concerned only with his little part. But the Lord Jesus Christ prayed, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (JOHN 17:21). Some may "view with alarm" a movement to join believers in divine oneness; nevertheless, the Lord intended such a union.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Cor.12:12)

1. How does a “consumer attitude” about the local church hinder its ability to glorify Christ?

2. What priority do you place on being one of the many in your local church?

3. How does Paul’s concept of “ONE” differ from ecumenism or tolerance?

Visit Reformed Resources to order Dr. Barnhouse’s Timeless Illustrations.

If you appreciate the Making God’s Word Plain devotional site, please support it now.