I understand why I’ve never been asked to join a choir or sing a solo. Musical talent is not one of my gifts. I discovered this at 9 years of age when I was outside one day singing lustily. My mother opened the door and asked, “Is one of the calves sick? I think I just heard one.”

My mother’s words have never kept me from praising God in song, however. And when I preach somewhere, I enthusiastically join in congregational singing (making sure, of course, not to stand too close to the microphone).

God’s great salvation fills me with gratitude, and one way to express my joy is to sing about it. That’s why I’m puzzled by people who say they are Christians but admit that they seldom attend church services, almost never listen to Christian music, and find singing hymns and listening to sermons boring. I can understand nonbelievers saying this because they know neither God nor the joy of salvation. But believers do!

Reflect often and deeply on the riches you have in Christ. If you feel joyful, you will want to praise the Lord. And even if you are a poor singer like me, you’ll still say a hearty “Amen” to the psalmist’s words: “It is good to sing praises to our God” (Ps. 147:1).

  — Herbert Vander Lugt