Scripture
“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”
1 JOHN 2:6
Quotes/Color
“Every funeral reminds us of just how thin the veil is between this world and the next, between time and eternity, between the opportunity for conversion and the moment of judgment. So we cannot depart here unchanged.”
Antonin Scalia
“Reflection turns experience into insight.”
John Maxwell
Context
An author I admire, Andrew Klavan, once equated the big moments in one’s life as “Tuning Forks.” “Big moments” being weddings, funerals of loved ones, graduations, promotions, things of the sort…
Think about those moments in your life. Perhaps your own wedding day. The wedding day of a dear friend or family member. The passing of grandparent or relative who seemed resolute and immovable in their life on earth, but now they are gone. Graduating from high school and that moment of feeling like you’d entered adulthood. The birth of your first child. Or maybe the day you found out Santa Clause wasn’t real. I don’t know, just spitballing. Any of these moments. Just examples.
He calls these moments “Tuning Forks” because suddenly… they allow you to spot differences between who you are and who you want to be.
A few examples in my own life.
- I think of my Granddaddy’s funeral (on my mom’s side) in 2011, Clarence Dowden. The jolly yet hilariously curmudgeony old man I knew. He tried out for plays at the local theater as a retiree in Georgetown, Texas and had a way of making an entire room erupt with laughter… just with one look on his face. Thinking back on his passing I think to myself, “Bryan, you stiff, you need to lighten up. You really ought to honor what he left behind and not take things so seriously around here. Take a joke. Make a joke. And pass it along.”
- I think of going to any wedding with my wife Katie. Sitting in the pews with her by my side and watching another couple take vows and smile so excitedly about the times that lay ahead of them together… Going to these weddings with her, I’m reminded, “Are you still gonna try to romance your wife or not, Romeo? No more effort? All this talk about commitment. Time to put some more into this thing! You’re coasting! You’ve got a good one!”
- I think of my grandmother’s funeral (on my dad’s side) in 2010, Alpha Rhodes. The valedictorian of her high school who decided to be a piano performance major in college and went on to give her grandchildren (myself included) piano lessons growing up. Thinking back on her passing I think to myself, “Bryan, bring a little color to things for goodness sakes. Stop being such an accountant! Not everything is about being bigger and better and efficient and effective… Slow down and make some music. You know how to. Do it.”
There is dissonance there in those Tuning Fork moments. Dissonance between who you are and a reminder of who you want to be. And they make you want to resolve it.
That is the function of a tuning fork, after all. To diminish and resolve dissonance.
Application
The application of course is first, to not forget to break out your tuning fork. And second, to be careful who you allow to ultimately be your tuning fork.
Don’t Forget to Break Out Your Tuning Fork
Take a moment and make a conscious effort to not breeze through life and neglect to reflect. Reflection on (1) who you are and (2) who you are becoming is I think one of the most tragic things forgotten in many people’s walks with the Lord.
Take a moment and assess this present moment… Your age. Your priorities. What you value. What you don’t value. Who you spend time with. Who you don’t spend time with.
… Now strike that tuning fork…
Is there dissonance between who you are and who you want to be?
If not, you’re either awesome and we should hang out. Or you’re not at all self-aware and that’s a big character flaw for you.
But seriously. Take some time and sit with that. It’s okay to feel that way.
Striking that tuning fork often will amount to great things. Don’t neglect reflecting.
The man I want to be and the man that I am live under the same roof. They just need to meet up and talk to each other a little bit more often. I’m sure it is the same for you.
Stop. Reflect. And break out that tuning fork a bit more often.
Christ, No One Else, Should Be Your Ultimate Tuning Fork
(Isn’t that line just a hilarious good ‘ole Baptist comparison?) Outside of moments in time in our lives, certain people and groups of people have a way of being tuning forks in our life too…
Ever feel excluded in a group setting and just recalibrate juuuuust a bit to better resonate with the room? I think we all do.
The second application is to be watchful of that.
It is a great temptation in life to at times look around you… look at popular culture… look at a certain group of friends or influential people in your life… see what they are doing, what they are saying, what they value and say to yourself… “You know, I feel a bit out of tune here.” And resolve the dissonance you feel with popular culture by joining it.
That is a mistake.
There are times in music that dissonance is not actually a bad thing… but beautiful. Emphasis: This is one of those times. This is good, beautiful dissonance.
If you are following Christ, not only will dissonance with popular culture be there. (It’s okay that it is there, do not be alarmed.) It should be there.
If there is no dissonance between your life and popular culture as a professing Christian, I would encourage you to take a close look at the tuning fork you’re resolving to. If you look a bit closer, you might find you have the wrong one in your hand.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate figure we tune our lives to as Christians. He is our true north. He is our ultimate tuning fork.
There will always be dissonance between me and Jesus. That is why He is Jesus and I am me. But it’s my job to have the right tuning fork in my hand. Which I hope to always do.
Something to Chew On:
- Do you stop and reflect (hit your tuning fork) often enough? When is the last time you’ve done that?
- Where is there dissonance between who you are and who you want to be?
- Is it possible that popular culture has served as more of a tuning fork for your life than Christ has?
GreatValue Proverb:
If you don’t break out your tuning fork often enough, sooner or later you’re going to be awfully out of tune.
This is great! I honor you mentioning Grandaddy in your list of tuning forks. When I had lost my way in late 90s and was just starting to turn my life around again, he said “ let us see more of you. “. It’s like He gave me permission to repent and return to the family. Tuning Fork.