I have this set of wind chimes hanging on my front porch. They were a special splurge a couple of summers ago when my old chimes were relocated to the back patio. These new chimes have the most beautiful, deep, rich tones and I couldn’t resist them, regardless of the kind of steep price. I hear them all the time since they are in a prime location to catch every little breeze. They swing freely and sing sweetly.
Yesterday, we got a blast of ice and snow that froze on top of everything. I noticed that the chimes sounded off, so I put on my slippers and went out into the cold to check them. Sure enough, there was ice and snow on them that was causing them to sort of clang in an off note. They were almost irritating in their noise, not at all the sweet music that I was used to.
This spoke to my spirit and the verse about a “clanging cymbal” came to mind:
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].
I can speak eloquently and have the best message for others, but if my heart is frozen up and there’s no love in the message, then my words are just a clanging, noisy irritation to others. If I don’t write with a heart of love, then I’m just wasting others’ time with useless words. I want to speak and write to others with God’s love for me ringing through and spilling over. That song and message will be received with pleasure and understanding, not annoyance and disregard.
If it seems your message is being ignored or comes across in the wrong way, check your heart. You might need to thaw some places out so the message comes across in the true notes of love.
Wrenderings 