The Playlist of Jesus

Do you have a favorite playlist? It’s that list that you go to in the airport, driving in the car, exercising, or just cleaning the house. I still think it’s cool that we can organize music, create unique playlists, and essentially carry 1,000 CDs around with us in our hip pocket. No one under 25 thinks it’s that cool, but I still do. Those of us who spent hours in our bedroom making a “mix tap” or trying to master the art of “high speed dubbing” will always appreciate the ease of the digital music revolution. Sam Goody’s, Camelot, and F.Y.E.…not so much.

You may not know this, but Jesus had a playlist. It was his go-to list of songs. I have been preaching through the statements that Jesus made from the cross in the“Red Letter Day” series. If we listen closely, we hear lyrics from his playlist: fragments of Psalm 22, 31, 42, and 69 are on his lips as he dies.

That’s the power of songs. Songs have a way of giving expression to the deep need of our souls. A good song can bring comfort, offer encouragement, and inspire us. Songs connect people and bring ideas together in a way that prose cannot.

Jesus quotes a lyric from Psalm 31 on the cross, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” It’s a song of simple trust, and at the same time is very profound prayer. Jesus had always committed his way to the Father. Now, in his moment of death, he once again offers himself to the Father’s care.

While we may not die on a cross, we will die. It’s a part of life. I’ve been beside people who have passed from this life to the next. Many times I've sung with the family as they usher a loved one into eternity. Even when mind and body fail, the songs of trust that we learn in worship stay with us. I’ll never forget the time a women who didn’t even know her name because of Alzheimer’s sang “Jesus Loves Me” just before she died. That’s the value of a good playlist.

Do you have the right playlist? Are you singing the right songs? Are you connecting with God in worship and Bible study? These are the things that teach us to trust so that when our time comes, we can pray with Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” We will not have the confidence to commit our spirit to God in our moment of death, if we have not also committed our time, our ambitions, our money, our family, and our careers to the Father in life.

"Father, help us to surrender to you with every detail of our lives. Teach us your songs so that trust and faith might awaken in us."