Marching Band

I love marching bands. I love the way they look when they move together, the hypnosis of their ambiance flowing along; the sound is addicting to me. Add a marching band to anything and you have me. Sold.


OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

A while ago Ok Go released this video for their song "This Too Shall Pass." If you watch the video and read the previous paragraph you will understand why I (and now you too probably) was totally obsessed with the video. I think I watched it everyday for nearly 3 weeks. It demonstrates so well why I love marching bands so much. It starts out small, with only one instrument playing, and by the end, a huge beautiful collaboration of musical expertise!

It's poetry really. Think about the marching band for a moment. It speaks a lot about life. Not just one person playing, but a whole group of people playing together to create beauty. That's life right there. What if in that Ok Go song, the guy with the drum had just walked around the whole time singing and beating on his drum by himself? It might still sound good, but there would be so much missing. We need the rest. We need the whole band.

Often times when a person is just playing the clarinet or the trumpet or any instrument for that matter rehearses the piece by themselves, the music doesn't even make sense! A novice musician might think, "this is just random noise!" But the skilled musician knows that when all of the noise comes together, it makes goodness.

In the book of Romans, in chapter 14, Paul tells us to pursue what promotes peace and to do what builds each other up. Everywhere in the Bible there are messages that point to us working together to further God's kingdom. You weren't meant to go it alone. You were meant to be part of the marching band of humanity. There is nothing wrong or sinful about striving for God by yourself, but it certainly isn't meant to be that way forever. When we come together, it makes goodness.

Maybe what you're doing now doesn't even make sense. Maybe it just sounds like random notes on a page. Just wait. Just wait until it all comes together. I promise; when it does, it'll make more than sense, it'll make poetry. It'll make for some great stories.

The band marches onward. The story continues to be written. It is a continuous motion that blurs the lines of beginning and end. You are playing an instrument. How does it fit in with the rest of the band? Life sounds better together. We fit together like poetry. Beautiful.