I have spent my fair share of hours in the practice room: I remember the feeling, warming up for what seemed like the thousandth day in a row, blasting long notes through my saxophone at 8AM. If, like I did, you study some kind of music performance, it is inevitable that a significant chunk of your time is devoted to practice.
It is easy for all those hours to feel quite separate from our 'Christian' life. Whether or not we believe in Jesus, we still have to face up to the Eb harmonic minor scale! It is just me in my little practice room, where no one sees, and there is one clear goal for my time: progress in my music.
Yet the gospel calls us to be utterly transformed (e.g. Romans 12:1-2) and to do everything, even the most menial elements of daily life, to the glory of God (e.g. 1 Corinthians 10:31). Music practice is surely included under this umbrella, and as Christians we want to take these commands seriously, but… what does it actually look like?
- Am I supposed to pray constantly while I do my scales?
- To find some kind of meditative mind-state where I am closer to God?
- Should I begin each practice session with a worship song?
I want to suggest that when it comes to practice, the primary thing the gospel brings us is a new vision - a richer, deeper vision. Though there may be some practical changes to make, grasping the reality of Jesus’ redeeming work enables us first and foremost to view those accumulating hours of practice in a different light.
So, let us journey once more through this magnificent gospel, making a few stops along the way, before returning to our original question.
A purpose lost
The opening chapters of Genesis give us a glimpse into God’s ideal for our world - how did He originally intend it all to be? A key revelation is that humans were created with a purpose: God, the creator, commissioned them to rule, be fruitful, multiply, and subdue (Genesis 1:26-28).
Note - this is a very good world, made by God’s very capable hands, yet for His vision to truly be fulfilled, there is still work to do, and this work is assigned to the humans. In other words, according to Genesis, God’s design for our world was to be brought to completion by co-operative human beings. This is a profound dignity. Our fruitfulness within our world is our participation in the creator’s design. Through this participation, God is glorified, creation is bettered (or fulfilled), and humans flourish.
Conversely, in the fall (Genesis 3) we see humans rejecting their God-given mandate in favour of defining their own purpose and vision. Where there was intended to be harmony and joyful productivity, instead the curse brings division and hard toil.
But the curses spoken over Eve and Adam (Genesis 3:16-19) do not negate the mandate of fruitfulness; rather they frustrate it. This is important. The curse God speaks over Eve does not suggest she no longer should bear children, but it does mean that bearing children is going to be harder work. Similarly the curse God speaks over Adam does not suggest he should stop cultivating the ground, but it does mean that cultivating the ground will be harder work. The fundamental mandate remains, but it is more difficult.
One of the questions which Genesis 3 leaves us with is how Adam and Eve, and their descendants, will respond. Will they choose to submit to God, and to His mandate - the path towards His glory, their own flourishing, and the good of creation? In short, no. In fact, the entire Old Testament narrative is the story of humanity sometimes trying but always failing to choose the right path.
Gospel restoration
The gospel of Jesus is the pivot in the story:
The gospel is that Jesus came to pay our debt of sin, so that we can be justified before the Holy Judge.
The gospel is that He came to wash us clean, so that we can be made holy in His sight.
The gospel is that Jesus died our death, so that we can share in His life.
And the gospel is also that Jesus has made a way for all of creation to be restored. This idea weaves throughout the New Testament.
For example, in Colossians 1:15-23, Paul describes the dual-implications of Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice. On an individual level, human beings can be restored to God, their relationship repaired (verses 21-22). But at the same time on a cosmic level, all things in heaven and earth are being reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus (verse 20).
and he reconciled all things to himself through him - whether things on earth or in the heavens. He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
In Romans 8:18-23, Paul describes the trajectory of a creation that will one day be liberated from this curse of frustration. God’s people will be free and glorious, and so too will be the world we inherit.
Revelation 22 depicts the end of this trajectory: a new garden of Eden. Here, all of creation will be free from the curse and its frustration (Rev 22:3). Here, there will be fruitfulness like never before - a harvest every month of the year (Rev 22:2)!
But fruitfulness begins now. In John 15, Jesus describes His salvation like a vine, bringing Eden-life and fruit to the world. Those who belong to Him are like branches, bearing fruit as they draw from the life they find in Him. Just like Adam and Eve, we are given a mandate for fruitfulness. Except now, we do not just live in Eden, we become Eden. This fruitfulness does not solely concern our work (see more below). Rather the image is that through our connection with Jesus, we bring something of Eden’s beauty in our own communities, relationships, and lives.
What about us?
Right now, we are waiting for that final restoration to be completed. We experience the frustration of our fruitfulness. Our work can be hard. We get ill or injured. We get tired or bored. We can be lazy and unmotivated. Sometimes, things just take ten times longer than we hoped! But the mandate remains: be fruitful.
That leaves us with two big vision changes. Firstly, we will be those who eagerly await what is to come in the future. We face the frustrations of this world, knowing that for now they are inevitable. But we face them with hope, knowing that they will not last forever.
Secondly, we will be people who submit to God’s purpose for us and for our world in the present. In John 15, Jesus is very clear that fruitfulness is a necessity. If we take Jesus seriously, and live by His word, then we have to live by this restored mandate. In other words, we have a transformed vision for our lives.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Fruitfulness
When Jesus talks about fruitfulness, He has a range of areas in view. He surely includes our holiness, as in the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Our multiplication through evangelism is another important aspect of fruitful Christian living (e.g. Matthew 28:19-20). In John 15:12-13, Jesus points to sacrificial love, and in several places we are called to 'good works' (e.g. Ephesians 2:10). These are important and fundamental.
Our workplace (or place of study) will naturally be one of the main settings in which we bear this fruit. But even more than that, our work itself is valuable in that it is part of humanity’s original, flawed-but-still-present mandate, to live in God’s world and cultivate goodness. Signing up to follow Jesus means returning to His original design. Living as His image-bearer in a fallen world means living by His purpose, even though it is frustrated.
Therefore, our work becomes part of the way we honour God and bear fruit. Some people farm the land, some heal the sick, some teach the young. These all bear good fruit. Others make art - and in case you have never been told before, let me be clear - this is a good and valid career!
Fruitful music
God created a world with the potential for music. He created humans with the appreciation of music. He designed music in such a way that it does us good, bringing enjoyment, healing, development, entertainment, community, praise, and so much more. These building blocks surely create the expectation that a rich and cultivated creation is one where there is plenty of music being made. Working as a musician, you can bear much good fruit in the world.
Of course, that does not mean music can be an excuse for not pursuing holiness, or evangelism, or selfless love. Those remain fundamental, and at times following Jesus may mean making decisions that negatively impact your career in music. But neither is your music just something to fill the gap between a Sunday service and a midweek small group - it is good, God-given work, and a means by which you can bear good fruit in this world.
Fruitful practice
So finally… back to practice. I hope that by now this new vision is coming into focus. If music is the career that God has set before you, then work at it and be fruitful!
Your practice becomes meaningful because it is caught up in this great purpose.
Your practice honours God because your diligence in it shows you take seriously the mandate He has given you.
Your practice is part of you working to bear fruit in God’s world.
Enjoy it, own it, and work at it. The gospel makes our practice so much richer.
Let me finish with some practical suggestions that flow from this vision:
- Music is not the only element of your fruitfulness, nor the foremost, so guard uncompromisingly the time for those other fundamentals.
- Pray about your practice and your career, that God would make it fruitful. Spend time reflecting on how your career goals might fit with this gospel vision.
- Work hard at practice.
- Be honest about how much you practise.
- Find ways to remind yourself of this vision during practice sessions.
