Staying In Tune

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1, 2

Recently, we were blessed with a tremendous gift: a 40 year old Kimball upright piano.
The previous owner of the piano had been ill with a progressively debillitating disease, and consequently the piano had not been played or tuned in more than fourteen years.
As I tinkled on the keys it really didn't sound too bad,
nonetheless my wife made arrangements for a piano tuner to come and tune the piano.
When the tuner, a young man of about 20 or so, arrived and set up his tuning machine.
He started measuring the tone of each key of the piano against the standard of the tuning machine,
so even my untrained ear could hear how off-key, flat, the sound of the piano had become. After the piano had been tuned perfectly, this young man sat down and played a magnificent piece, and then he gave me a piece of advice about piano tuning and ongoing maintenance-inaverdently and supernaturally about life in the Lord: because the piano had sat for so long out of tune, some of the keys had naturally developed a memory that was off-key, and they would gravitate towards that familiar place. It would have to be retuned relatively frequently over the next couple years, until the piano had developed a new, in-tune memory.

To be honest, it is my fleshly nature to be cynical and negative, and I struggle with losing my joy when things become difficult. Unless I constantly strive to measure my self; my heart, my thoughts, my joy, the measure of my love, against the Standard of Jesus my Messiah and Savior, and imitate Him, and choose to stay in-tune, I will return to my "off-key" soul memory where I spent so many years, where the sounds I make are not those of "joyful noise" and praise, which He is always worthy of-amen!
Today, let us remember to measure ourselves frequently, imitating Jesus as our Standard,
persevering and enduring with joy, keeping our eyes fixed on the One we desire to emulate.