In our church, right before the pastor stands up to deliver the sermon, there is a musical selection called Special Music – usually by a soloist, but not necessarily so. About three times a year, my son is asked to play Special Music. So far, he has played violin once and piano three times.
Our son playing Jesus Loves Me in church last week.
Even though he has played violin longer than piano, our son prefers piano. It’s a long story. We are now on our third violin teacher. It has been a little harder to be consistent, but I think we have finally found somebody who can help us get through all sorts of technical issues and finally make violin attractive for the kids.
The latest song he played for special music on the piano is Jesus Loves Me. This arrangement is way below my son’s piano level right now, but we chose it so that we can get over the nerves. He wants to do special music, but he gets nervous every time. I figured it would help if he had to play something easier. A lot of performing has to do with mental toughness. And he is still a small boy.
People love to see small children play music and I tell him he inspires people with his talent. By the way, we believe talent is developed, not inborn. I have been reading so much about the Talent Education movement, a.k.a. the Suzuki Method, that I have come to believe it is true.
However, this talent which we keep honing in both my son and my daughter must be shared with others to inspire them and help them along the way. A lot of people come to church with broken hearts. Hearing a simple song like “Jesus Loves Me” brings them back to basic truths about life.
H.M.S. Richards, a great preacher, was asked once what is the deepest theological statement he could think of. He replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.” And that’s what I hope my son’s playing in church impressed upon everyone. We are loved. There is love for us. It does take faith to accept it, but there is a lot of love for each of us.
