Your Place in God's Band

By Max Lucado

Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band. My mother wanted me to learn to read music, and the choir was full while the band was a tuba-tooter short, so I signed up. Not necessarily what you would describe as a call from God, but it wasn't a wasted experience either.
I had a date with a twirler.
I learned to paint white shoe polish on school buses.
And I learned some facts about harmony that I'll pass on to you.

I marched next to the bass-drum player. What a great sound. Boom. Boom. Boom. Deep, cavernous, thundering. And at the end of my flank marched the flute section. Oh, how their music soared. Whispering, lifting, rising into the clouds. Ahead of me, at the front of my line, was our first-chair trumpet. He could raise the spirit. He could raise the flag. He could have raised the roof on the stadium if we'd had one.

The soft flute
needs
the brash trumpet
needs
the steady drum
needs
the soft flute
needs the brash trumpet.

Get the idea? The operative word is need. They need each other. By themselves they make music. Together they make magic.

Now what I saw two decades ago in the band, I see today in the church. We need each other. Not all of us play the same instrument. Some believers are lofty, and others are solid. Some keep the pace while others lead the band. Not all of us make the same sound. Some are soft, and others are loud. And not all of us have the same ability. Buts each of us has a place.
Some play the drums (like Martha).
Some play the flute (like Mary).
And others sound the trumpet (like Lazarus).

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were like family to Jesus. After the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, the decided to give a dinner for Jesus. They decided to honor Him by having a party on His behalf (John 12:2). They didn't argue over the best seat. They didn't try to outdo each other. All three worked together with one purpose. But each one fulfilled that purpose in his or her own unique manner. Martha served, Mary worshiped, and Lazarus had a story to tell and he was ready to tell it. Three people, each with a different skill, a different ability. But each of equal value.