Becoming a Kite

What is the character of a believer? Christian love. Check out Romans 5:3-4 and 1Timothy 1:5. The qualities that make us different are perseverance, love, a pure heart, a good conscience, a sincere faith, and AUTHENTICITY.

• It’s being real. Not hiding your struggles but acknowledging them and knowing Jesus is the solution.
• It’s knowing your role as a sin filled human but knowing the power of the blood of Jesus even more.
• It’s truly reflecting Christ. This means intentionally growing our character to look more like Him. When we do this, we are seen as more than merely guitarists or worship leaders but as servant leaders using our talents to glorify God.

It’s only when we live a life filled with integrity, aiming to please God not man, that we can be used as instruments to glorify our Creator.Let’s look at the life of Moses as an example. In Exodus 35, Moses is explaining to the Israelites what God commanded as requirements of the Tabernacle. But why is this important? Well the Tabernacle was the Israelites way to worship God. It was how sins were forgiven. The Tabernacle was their way of intimacy with God.

In Exodus 35:10 Moses says,”Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded.” God calls the most skilled craftsmen to build his place of worship. He’s doesn’t ask for something thrown together last minute. He demands something done at the very best level possible.

That’s how we should treat our worship and all we do in our lives.  We should give God our very best because he deserves it. In verses 30-31 Moses appoints Bezalel as the head builder for the tabernacle because he was filled with the spirit of God and was a very skilled craftsmen. Not only does God want our best work that we have to offer but he wants our hearts.

He wants us to be authentic children full of character that reflect His son. He wants us to live a life of integrity, filled with the spirit of God, so that we can be used as His instrument. That may mean creating a worship environment suitable and worthy for His praise or sharing His love with a grieving friend. He’s not looking for the perfect production, the perfect solo, a perfect vocal run, or the perfect person. He wants a willing person who will give their everything because he deserves our everything.

Look at the lyrics to this song by Beautiful Eulogy called The String that Ties Us:

“Let’s suppose that a kite could come to life and develop its own personality. On the one hand it would feel the exhilaration that comes from the surges of wind that direct it through the sky. On the other hand, it would almost immediately take notice of something annoying: The tugging of the string at its center, the feeling of constraint, resistance. Soon the kite begins to think to itself ‘if only I could detach, than I could really fly.’ To the kite you see it seems that the string is limiting its full experience of freedom. But as any boy or girl who has ever flown a kite knows, were that string to suddenly snap, the kite wouldn’t soar free for very long. It would dart to and fro for a minute, maybe two, but very soon thereafter it would end up on the ground in a pile of broken sticks and torn paper never to fly again. Rather you see, it is the taut line between the kite and the one holding it that enables the kite to fly, that allows all the principles of aerodynamics to come to play so that the kite might achieve its full purpose. Christian love performs the very same function as a kite string. You take away the stabilizing force of Christian love and every towering gift, every supernatural power, every sacrificial act, every musical performance, you name it friends. It will all end up on the ash heap of eternal insignificance, without love.”

- Pastor Art Azurdia

 

Our kite string is our Christian love… our character, our authenticity, our integrity. Here’s the beautiful thing about this analogy for us…

The more string we let go of, the stronger the kite flies.
The more string we let go of, the higher the kite flies.
The more string we let go of, the better the kite flies.

The more we allow Christian love to rule in us, the more we intentionally grow our character to look like Christ, the more God will be able to use us as an instrument for his Glory.

Your Turn:

In what ways has your character been tested?
How have you grown through those experiences?