Hey
howdy ho!!! It's Tuesday!!! Here We Go!!!! Welcome to Tuesday's
Musical Notes, where hopefully the music is what you expect, but the
commentary....hopefully is completely unexpected. At least maybe it is a
thing to make you go hmmm. Let's get started with today's song that
makes you go "Hey....Hey....Hey....Hey!". From 1985, with an assist
from the movie The Breakfast Club, here is Simple Minds:
4
bands refused to initially record this iconic 80's hit including Simple
Minds. After originally refusing to record the song they were persuaded
by their record label, A&M, to perform it for the soundtrack of the
John Hughes film, The Breakfast Club. This film featured some
of the 80's largest young actors, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall,
Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson,who would become known as
the "Brat Pack". Each of these actors would see major hits in the 80's
and early 90's.
The
practice in the music industry is to typically record a series of songs
for inclusion on an album, selecting specific tracks for release as
singles and to radio. Many times the inclusion of a song on a movie
soundtrack is icing on the cake for a single. This would allow the
single to have a saturation of 3 formats. 2 full length albums and the
single. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is the exception to this norm as
it went to #1 on the US charts for 3 weeks in 1985. It never reached
the top 5 in the UK but stayed on the charts from 1985-1987, the longest
period of time for any single. It reached its max saturation by not being on any Simple Minds full length album in that time period. Simple Minds refused to include it on a full length album until 1992's greatest hits complilation, Glittering Prize.
Who
in your history have you never forgotten about? What does it take to
be memorable to others? What are the characteristics of those people in
your life who you remember fondly and continue to heed advice they may
have given you? Perhaps they always seemed happy. Without a doubt they
were usually kindhearted and thought of others before themselves. Did
they exude a love for others that was evident in the patient way they
interacted with folks? This is the kind of person you would never
consider quarrelsome, right? Hopefully several people have come to your
mind. What was it about them that allowed these characteristics to be
so evident in their life?
In
the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia, he
referred to a grouping of similar characteristics that he called fruit
of the Spirit. What he means here is that after a person accepts Jesus'
leadership over their lives, there are specific attributes about their
life that will be evidence of the transformation that is taking place in
them. Galatians 5:22-23 list these traits:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Think
back on the group of people that are memorable to you. Do these
"fruit" describe them? Do these "fruit" describe you? I confess that I
don't live up to this standard on a consistent basis. I fall back on
the nature of humans to be unkind, out-of-control, and unloving. But, Galatians 5:22-23 is the benchmark for followers of Jesus. Before Paul wrote about the fruit, he was given a foundation by Jesus who describes memorable people in this manner:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let
your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:14-16.
Jesus
tells us here that when we encounter other people, we should be doing
things that cause them to give glory to God. Notice that the light
shines on "all who are in the house". Everyone around you benefits from
you doing good works...."bearing fruit". Those who are around you that
are believers will glorify God and while Jesus doesn't say this, I have
to wonder if those who are not believers at the very least wonder "why"
we do the things we do. So friend, I challenge you today as I
challenge myself to ponder, "Are the things I do shining a light so
others can see and glorify God?". "Do I bear "fruit" that makes me a
memorable person and thereby remind others about the One who is the most
memorable? Just some things to make you go "hmmm" and "Hey....Hey....Hey....Hey".
For more on being remembered here is the choir of Prestonwood Baptist Church:
"We Will Remember" - Prestonwood Baptist Church Choir
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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