Last Tuesday my wife Colleen and I attended a performance of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra at the Jewish Community Center. Only a part of the WSO were performing under the leadership of the WSO’s Assistant Conductor, Peter Wiebe. They played several pieces written by Jewish composers, such as George Gershwin and Felix Mendelssohn.

God’s Beauty In Great Music

My wife has a Bachelor of Music Degree from Queen’s University in Kingston and is a high school music teacher. I don’t have any musical training and I can’t carry a tune if my life depended on it. However, I do love to sing each Sunday as part of our congregational worship and I do appreciate good music. It is not surprising then when I share that my wife understood the intricacies of what was being played at a much deeper level than I did.

Despite the fact that I am a musical novice, so to speak, I greatly enjoyed the musical performance of the Windsor Symphony. I knew in my soul that I was experiencing something very good. Excellent musicians were playing excellent compositions under the gifted leadership of Peter Wiebe.

Even though God was not mentioned all evening, it was a very meaningful spiritual night for me. In my heart, I was very grateful to the Lord for giving great talents to people like Felix Mendelssohn and to the musicians of the WSO. I was also grateful to the Lord for my friend Peter Wiebe, who is a very humble and faithful servant of the Lord. He not only is the Assistant Conductor of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, but is also a long-time Pastor of the Vineyard Church in Windsor.

The Heart Of A  Great Servant

Most people at the Concert probably didn’t know that Peter is a Christian. His love for the Jewish people was very evident as he shared the historical backgrounds of the Jewish composers. His passion for good music and conducting was also quite evident. It was also very clear to me that God’s glory was shining through Peter that evening. Not only was the audience very pleased, but I am convinced that the Lord was pleased as well with the motivation and work of His servant Peter. He is a blessing.

We are all gifted in significant ways to serve the Lord in this world. Followers of Jesus are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. It is always the way of least resistance to be a complainer and a back-biter and to tear down others. Let us ask the Lord each day to give us the desire and strength to be an encourager and edifier of those who cross our path each day.

Let us be good stewards of God’s grace by being gracious to those who are closest to us and to those most different from us. The Lord who calls us is faithful, and He will do it through us, if we let Him.

QOTD: Am I willing to make a commitment to ask the Lord to make me a blessing to those people I encounter each day of my life?