Walk in rhythm with Christ, our Lord

Jim Honeycutt

Chaplain-Baptist Minister

I step onto a small traffic bridge where the cars and pedestrians cross a rain-swollen creek. Noticing that the span appears to shake as the reverberation from the rushing water below and the passing vehicles above echo throughout its stretch. The farther across the bridge, I walk the more shake I feel.

Proceeding at a casual pace, my mind begins to contemplate my footing amid the vibrations. Attempting to stop as close to the middle as possible, I try not using my vision, only my sense of the rhythm running beneath my feet. Standing there while the ripples rise from my lower extremities into the rest of my body, I think of the water glass I occasionally place on my nightstand. Usually when placed there for the evening, the water displays not a ripple, at least not one I can see unless it’s disturbed.

When the window fan next to the stand is on, a great deal of disturbance can be seen. As I drink the water throughout the night, while the fan hums constantly, I find the glass beginning to sing in a frequency I can hear. By morning when the water is gone, my glass is softly in full duet with the fan. And the stand, choosing not to be left out, hums along.

Back in the present, I open my mouth and hold the bridge’s railing, like we did when we were kids to see if the vibrations will travel up and out. To my amusement, I find they do and I try to vocalize steady notes as the energy of the bridge manifests through me. Moving my lips, I mouth words to the rhythm of multiple harmonics connected by my touch, blended with my voice. And though folks are beginning to look at me strangely, I am having a blast!

“Easily amused are we?” my wife asks.

“You know me so well,” I answer back.

Walking away from the bridge, I think about its vibrations that flowed through me. For some reason, the Scripture where Paul writes “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” found in Romans 12:2, is emerging. I place it on hold for the moment in the back of my mind. 

Farther down the block, a young man drives past us in a car with its music blaring and the bass thumping. The pit of my stomach reacts as the bumping notes punch my senses, causing a moment of disorientation.

“Wow, you think they can hear that?” my wife sarcastically shouts over the noise.

“Well, I certainly feel it,” I yell back.

The driver, unaffected by the discomfort on the sidewalk, continues to share his blaring tune, while his car rattles along.

Across the street, a group of performers are assembled ringing bells to various tunes as colored lights flash in the background. The glow on their faces, only outdone by the sun, seem magnified by the vibrant clear echoing of their silver bells. Joy flows to those gathered listening, as the melodies reverberate all around. I smile, relishing the feeling these sounds bring my emotions.

My cell phone rings.

All around us energy is manifesting itself through different frequency types, from sound waves to light waves to electromagnetic radio and microwaves. Even our own bodies broadcast a frequency that varies depending on health, mental and emotional state. And yet, because of our physical limitations, we can only see, hear and feel a small portion of the spectrum. Many species of animals on our planet are a lot more in tune to the world beyond our human perception. Yet, we know they occur through study of effect.

I don’t have to see sound waves to hear their effect. It’s not necessary I hear a light wave to see things clearly. I may not comprehend how radio waves are sent back and forth, but I still have a working cell phone. 

Which brings me to this thought:

God is Light, the Creator of all that moves in light. And since God is the Author of life, the absolute source of our life energy, we should desire to align ourselves with the pattern of His being.

But humankind has fallen away by error of choice and now reverberates in the pattern of a selfish dying world. We even observe folks standing on corrupted patterns of thought, manifesting the worlds energy by blending it with their own voice.

As a follower of Christ, once Jesus has change my spiritual frequency pattern by His presence in my being, I must take hold of God’s word, allowing it to bring into alignment my thoughts and actions (the renewing of my Mind). I must empty myself like the glass on my nightstand to reverberate the love and peace I was designed to sing. Then standing upon the Truth of God, I will be a vessel of His Glory as it manifests in me, no longer in concert with the world as it rattles along, but echoing forth the brilliance of a Holy Loving Creator, I will ring with  clarity. And joy will flow from Christ in me to those listening. His Glory not just reflected, His Glory projected as I’m walking in His rhythm.