About ten years ago, I was on a trip with the high school band. We were waiting outside a building before we played at a band festival, and some people in the school choir started singing "Amazing Grace." This was a public school choir, and I'm sure some of the members weren't Christians. And at some point during high school, we played "Amazing Grace" in band. As I said, it was a public school.
Just last week, when someone asked me to play some music on the train on the way back from band practice, he asked me to play "Amazing Grace," and he may have been drunk or something. Before he made that request, I don't think he said anything that sounded spiritual, and he swore like a sailor. (I wrote about this encounter last week, and I didn't include most of the swearing.) It felt good to be asked to play that song in particular. It can be an honour to share God's grace in some small way.
I can't think of any other old hymn that has such a broad, timeless appeal.
What is it about this song that makes it so timeless and its appeal so broad, even to people who most of us wouldn't think are Christians? Could it be that they really do realize their need for God's grace but they don't want the "Christian" label? Or do they not believe in God but consider the song a simple and beautiful expression of a beautiful idea?
I know that some songs tend to cut through my own cynicism and doubt about Christianity, if only for a while. Sometimes it's simple, classic songs like "Amazing Grace" that do that best.
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2 comments:
I think the most important aspect of sharing the Good News is in some way relating it to that person and their life.
I think Amazing Grace fits in that category because of the ubiquity of the song, and the overall positive image it has. I bet it would be extremely difficult to find someone who has a negative impression of that song.
That is an open door, if the person is open to the music of the song, it is much more likely they will pay attention to the words.
When I think of 'Amazing Grace,' the beautiful melody is what comes to my mind first - because when I was in my gradeschool choir, we did that song every year. :-)
After the first impression, the second is a sort of wistful "It must be nice to get the spiritual meaning of this song." I envy the people who hear these songs as meaningful hymns rather than just inoffensive old-tymey music.
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