Bassline
“In music theory, the bass note of a chord is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice.”
- Wikipedia
Other people refer to it as the bassline. It is that thing that is lying under the layers of the song. It is the infrastructure that everything else seems to hang. Musicians can identify whether or not a song is likely to be jazz, blues, rock, funk, electronic, etc., by the bassline or bass note signature of a song.
I was listening to a podcast recently where they were talking about the bass note being the deepest, truest, most defining thing about who we are. This is the type of podcast where they are trying to be inclusive of all religions, but the Christian leader of the podcast was clearly talking about the God that I know.
- What is that deep and constant note that defines everything in my life?
- What is the thing that everything in my life seems to be sourced in or emanate from?
- What is the chord that others could identify that would clearly differentiate me from the other types of music?
This reminded me of the first bible study I ever attended. So wide-eyed and opened was I and so captivating and brilliant was he (Louie Giglio), that the memory is crystal clear after more than three decades. He was gifted at getting you to honestly commit to what you truly believed before he revealed the truth.
One teaching was based on a large puzzle with 8-10 pieces where work, school, family, friends, exercise, etc. were each identified by a single puzzle piece that completed the whole. Once the puzzle was completed, there was one clear missing piece. When Louie asked what was wrong with the puzzle, we all knew the answer; “God” was missing.
He wrote “God” on the remaining blank piece and added it to the puzzle. After he asked us if the puzzle was correct now, he told us…
The puzzle was completely wrong.
For God isn’t supposed to be one of the things that define a segment of our life, he is meant to be everything.
He isn’t supposed to be merely one of the pieces that completes the puzzle, but the cardboard the pieces are printed on.
He isn’t supposed to be one of the images in our photograph, but the paper the image is printed on.
He isn’t supposed to be one of the figures in the painting, but the canvas where all the paint is applied.
He isn’t supposed to be one of the instruments in the music, but the bassline that all the rest of the music rests upon.
If our faith is going to be the thing that defines everything else, it can’t merely be the governing philosophy of our life, it has to operate at the level of identity. Not a part of our puzzle, but the very puzzle itself.
Consider
- Is your faith part of who you are or everything?
- What is the bass note that reverberates through your life?
- Does it clearly differentiate you from the other music?
- Can others quickly recognize it in you?