Be His Amplifier

Not long ago, I was babysitting my grandkids and I was trying to play a song on my phone for them. The speakers on my phone were a little feeble even though I had it turned all the way up, and my five-year-old grand-daughter said, “Just put it in this coffee cup, Mémé, and it will get louder.” Huh?? Did you know that if you put your cellphone in a cup or bowl, with the speaker down inside the vessel, it will amplify whatever you’re trying to listen to? I had no idea. 
The type of cup will determine the amplification you experience. Cups of different structures, shapes, weights, and materials will produce a slightly different sound quality and volume. I thought of this little techy trick last week when we were at the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s General Council. 
During the course of the seven-day conference, we heard messages from God’s Word from a variety of speakers, who were chosen to reflect the multi-cultural nature of our movement. One night we heard from an African-American preacher, and the next night a Korean-American pastor preached. We heard from a couple who are of Puerto Rican descent, and also from a Cuban pastor. We heard from C&MA leaders who are white. Our worship leaders and singers were both male and female, black, brown and white, and young and old. 
The whole conference was a great experience, but the most touching thing to me was the way that God used His vessels of different ethnicities, cultures and ages to transmit to us different aspects of the same beautiful message. They challenged and encouraged and taught us in different ways. The heart of our Gospel “song”, with its melody, its lyrics, and its message, does not change, but the tone, the key, the timbre and the tempo of the song changes with the style and cultural experience of the vessel who is sharing the Word. 
I loved each and every one of these messages, words spoken by servants of our Father, coming from many different cultures, but united in Him, simply doing their part to be the best amplifiers of his Word that they can possibly be. 
How can you be the kind of “coffee cup” that He has called you to be, to be a vessel that takes the Song of the Savior and amplifies it so that those around you can hear its life-giving melody?
- Janet Emerson