My piano teacher used to say this over and over and over again until
I could feel the tension and release in my shoulders. Tension and
release. It’s what music is built on. You can’t have the resolving
chord without that on-the-edge-of-your-seat V7 chord (although perhaps
Debussy would disagree, but even he has tension and release, and often
in the V7-I sense, so we won’t go there). It crosses boundaries into
every genre, whether a big Berlioz piece or Wagnerian epic or a Bach
pastoral.
It’s the same with stories. Tension and
release. You can’t have the resolving end without the obstacle that
needs resolve. You can’t have a protagonist without some sort of
antagonist.
release. You can’t have the resolving end without the obstacle that
needs resolve. You can’t have a protagonist without some sort of
antagonist.
At some point growing up–I’d like to think
it was early on being the prodigy that I am–I began wondering how this
relates to eternity, when God sets all things right and restores
everything to pure goodness. Music with no tension? Then how can we
have a Beethoven’s third? How can we have stories?
it was early on being the prodigy that I am–I began wondering how this
relates to eternity, when God sets all things right and restores
everything to pure goodness. Music with no tension? Then how can we
have a Beethoven’s third? How can we have stories?
And more importantly, was all of this planned? All of the evil and sickness and disease and wars?
This weekend, I watched a movie called Equilibrium (and talked about it indepth here). It renewed some thoughts in me I haven’t thunk in a while. Thoughts about true peace and beauty and harmony.
I
believe that God did not wish for it, but He knew. He knew before He
created us that in order for us to love Him freely, not as puppets (but
as real boys), not as robots, but as humans with free will, He had to
preserve that choice. Even though He knew exactly where that choice
would lead. I’m not saying God wants us to suffer or that He enjoys the
disgust in this world. I’m no sadist, and God isn’t either. I don’t
want pain or disaster to fall on me, my family, or my friends, and
neither does God wish to see His creation, those He loves more than I
can imagine, hurt. But how could we love Him if we had no capability to
say no?
believe that God did not wish for it, but He knew. He knew before He
created us that in order for us to love Him freely, not as puppets (but
as real boys), not as robots, but as humans with free will, He had to
preserve that choice. Even though He knew exactly where that choice
would lead. I’m not saying God wants us to suffer or that He enjoys the
disgust in this world. I’m no sadist, and God isn’t either. I don’t
want pain or disaster to fall on me, my family, or my friends, and
neither does God wish to see His creation, those He loves more than I
can imagine, hurt. But how could we love Him if we had no capability to
say no?
The sad thing, we did say no.
Here’s
the amazing thing to me: He saved the best for last. The Garden of Eden
is incredible, true, but the end, the next earth, fully restored and
beautiful, is even better. So amazing that John in Revelation 19-22 can
barely find adaquate words and metaphors to describe its shimmer. The
next earth makes Plato’s Utopia look like Auschwitz.
the amazing thing to me: He saved the best for last. The Garden of Eden
is incredible, true, but the end, the next earth, fully restored and
beautiful, is even better. So amazing that John in Revelation 19-22 can
barely find adaquate words and metaphors to describe its shimmer. The
next earth makes Plato’s Utopia look like Auschwitz.
Imagine,
as the Lord crafted this earth, declaring it good, He knew that it
would turn and destroy and be destroyed. He knew about the tsunamis and
polution and oil spills and hurricanes. As the Lord made the animals,
slick and beautiful and playful, he knew they would slaughter one
another and be slaughtered, stuffed and hung on walls and in bellies.
As our God breathed life into man and woman, He knew He’d watch His Son
take his last breath because of this humanity.
as the Lord crafted this earth, declaring it good, He knew that it
would turn and destroy and be destroyed. He knew about the tsunamis and
polution and oil spills and hurricanes. As the Lord made the animals,
slick and beautiful and playful, he knew they would slaughter one
another and be slaughtered, stuffed and hung on walls and in bellies.
As our God breathed life into man and woman, He knew He’d watch His Son
take his last breath because of this humanity.
And He
knew that a more magnificent earth is in store, and that the lamb would
lie next to the lion, and that this humanity would be at peace again.
He knew beauty would reign again, and when it did, it would be better
than the first time.
knew that a more magnificent earth is in store, and that the lamb would
lie next to the lion, and that this humanity would be at peace again.
He knew beauty would reign again, and when it did, it would be better
than the first time.
Why would my God give me something better after I did this to Him? That’s a grace I don’t understand.
But
this brings me back around to my first question (I like circles better
than lines, I think): what about the eternal, when heaven comes down to
earth, and we all reside in peace and beauty and perfection, when evil
(the antagonist) is completely wiped off the face of the–well, I was
going to say earth, but universe, or eternity fits better–what happens
to music and stories then? Will we not know them? If there’s no more
tension in life, does that mean there’s no more tension left to be in
stories and song?
this brings me back around to my first question (I like circles better
than lines, I think): what about the eternal, when heaven comes down to
earth, and we all reside in peace and beauty and perfection, when evil
(the antagonist) is completely wiped off the face of the–well, I was
going to say earth, but universe, or eternity fits better–what happens
to music and stories then? Will we not know them? If there’s no more
tension in life, does that mean there’s no more tension left to be in
stories and song?
I don’t know, but I have a feeling it
relates to that phrase "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain,
for the former things have ceased to exist” (Rev. 21:4, NET). They won’t exist (thankfully), but does that mean we won’t remember them? I don’t know. In Lord of the Rings,
Sam tells Frodo of all the stories they’ll tell in the shire about
them, the heroes Frodo and Sam, when all is right again. There will be
no more sorrow, but they’ll tell the stories. I can’t help but wonder
if that is what it will be like. When everything is right and there’s
no more sorrow or death or evil, we’ll tell the stories, not to revell
in the evil, but to delight in the good, in God’s victory, His love for
us and our love for Him. In the transformation from war to peace, from
tsunamis to surfing, from safaris for shooting to safaris for petting.
We’ll tell the stories and play the music.
relates to that phrase "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain,
for the former things have ceased to exist” (Rev. 21:4, NET). They won’t exist (thankfully), but does that mean we won’t remember them? I don’t know. In Lord of the Rings,
Sam tells Frodo of all the stories they’ll tell in the shire about
them, the heroes Frodo and Sam, when all is right again. There will be
no more sorrow, but they’ll tell the stories. I can’t help but wonder
if that is what it will be like. When everything is right and there’s
no more sorrow or death or evil, we’ll tell the stories, not to revell
in the evil, but to delight in the good, in God’s victory, His love for
us and our love for Him. In the transformation from war to peace, from
tsunamis to surfing, from safaris for shooting to safaris for petting.
We’ll tell the stories and play the music.
Which means, our stories and music and paintings are a foretaste because don’t we already know the end?
