Jeff Adams

Tonight Cheryl and I had the privilege of hearing Yo-Yo Ma with the Kansas City Symphony. Mr. Ma is simply the cellist of this generation. I have heard many world class musicians, but Yo-Yo Ma is one of those rare individuals that come along only once in a great while. The powerful synergy between him and his cello makes it impossible to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. What an amazing evening!

At one point during the Hayden concerto for cello and orchestra, the connection between director Michael Stern, Ma, and the orchestra was so seamless it brought tears to my eyes and seemed as though this was the very first time this piece of music had ever been played, even though Hayden wrote it in the latter years of the 1700′s. They did more than play music tonight; they made it.

James’ words came to mind when he said that every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). That’s not a commentary on Ma’s spirituality or the lack thereof; it’s a commentary on the goodness of God that continually surrounds us and manifests itself in an infinite variety of ways. I grow weary of the contemporary Christian tendency to divide everything in the world into “Christian” and “secular.” This is God’s world, and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). All good music is God music. All good art is God art. All good beauty is God beauty. All good literature is God literature. Paul understood this. Preaching to pagans in Athens, Paul found good in pagan poetry and quoted it as true, saying that in God we all live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). This doesn’t make the Bible any less unique, true or divinely inspired.

So, when was the last time you saw God in a glorious piece of music? When was the last time you discovered God in a book you could never buy in a Christian book store? When was the last time you thanked God for perfectly blended guacamole made at your table side? I’m serious! Don’t push God out of His own world. Don’t try to keep him in a box or a cage. We are surrounded by Him and our mission is to point Him out to others. That’s hard to do if you can’t see or hear his beauty and glory all around you.

For those of you who started reading this post because you thought I said “Yo Ma-Ma,” thanks for sticking it out with me to the end to hear what I had to say.