Enthusiasm

A retired preacher in the congregation was noted for his outbursts during the service - "Amen! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" he could cry in a loud voice. It didn't seem to matter how mundane the morning's topic was, this man could find something to make him call out.

The dismay of this reserved congregation was growing week by week. This was a respected man of the cloth, so it wasn't clear what was to be done. Finally, the senior pastor found the driest, most boring book he could - a college geology text - and gave it to the man on Sunday morning, instructing him to read it carefully in a room far removed from the sanctuary and report his thoughts on it later.

The senior pastor got about half way through the sermon without incident. Then, sure enough, a hue and cry of "Hallelujah!" and "Praise the Lord!" could be heard echoing from down the hall.

After concluding the service as best he could, the senior pastor hurried to find the retired preacher. "What could you have possibly found in such a tedious book to fir your spirit?" he asked.

The reply came, "It says here that the deepest point in the ocean floor is five miles below the surface. Scripture tells me that God will cast my sins into the depths of the sea and if they are that far away, I know they'll never come back to get me! Hallelujah!"

This man was enthusiastic about EVERYTHING! God gave us life abundant, and we should approach it with enthusiasm. In fact the word "enthusiasm" means "filled with God."

Ring with enthusiasm - filled with God! There are rehearsals and performances that we aren't in the mood for. Ring with enthusiasm anyway - the joyful feelings will return. There are times the music isn't going as well as we had hoped. Renew the enthusiasm in your ringing - by deciding to fill your ringing with God's presence and joy, you make the music happen! Not every piece in the folder will be your favorite. Decide to ring the "boring" ones or the ones you just don't like with enthusiasm. You get out of a piece what you put into it, and your listeners gain so much more of the heart and soul of a piece if you have put your heart and soul into it!

You may not want to cry "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!" in the middle of a service (then again, you might!), but don't let your enthusiasm go unexpressed. Be enthusiastic about your fellow ringers, your leaders, your listeners. Enthusiasm - being filled with God - spreads as the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of those around you. Who knows? Maybe they won't be able to contain their enthusiasm the next time they hear you play!

PRAYER: Lord, this is the day that You have made - we rejoice and are glad in it! Fill us with your love and spirit - fill us so much it can't be contained. May we fill others with that love through our music and our fellowship. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Kevin McChesney