Those were the words spoken by August Rush in the 2007 film of the same name. The words reflect a powerful question. As the script reads, August goes on to say:
“Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind…in the air…in the light. It’s all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do…is listen.”
August Rush tells the story of a musically gifted orphan who runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. Little does he know that his parents are searching for him as well. He also doesn’t know that both of his parents are gifted musicians. What he does know and recognize is that he hears music everywhere. He picks up what others do not. He tunes in to the music beyond the hubbub of the noisy city streets that also can be heard in the noise by someone who listens to creation.
The film points to a significant truth that another character (Wizard) in the movie speaks of when he and August talk about the music August is hearing. Listen to these beautiful lines:
“You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, every where, even the stars.”
Humans from every culture in every era are irresistibly drawn to music. The variations of musical sounds, styles, and types appear to be endless. Every generation, every tribe and culture, creates new sounds in new ways and call it music.
The current age allows us to enjoy a veritable buffet of choices of music in the many ways it is recorded and disseminated. The evidence of the popularity of music is clear when you see how many of those walking along the street, riding in an elevator, or running on the treadmill in the gym have earpieces tucked into their ears to accompany them. Some of us prefer a narrow bandwidth of musical types, while others of us enjoy many types and choose the music based on the mood or activity we are enjoying.
I fit into the latter category and the playlists on my iPod reflect that variety. I have classical, jazz, Broadway, pop, gospel, worship, movie themes, a little country, and even a writing playlist.
The evidence of music in the Bible shows up very early. It’s in Genesis 4:21 and it tells us Jubal was the fourth generation from Adam through Cain and was said to be “the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” Wow! It can be easy to miss these early evidences of music. Of course the longest book in the Bible, Psalms, is a book of songs. In Ephesians 5:19 Paul admonishes us to communicate with one another in the body through hymns, psalms, and songs from the Holy Spirit, to “sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.”
But I digress because the thing that impacts me today is the theme from August Rush about the music that is already surrounding us, much of which comes from the Creator through what He has created. It’s not surprising Paul writes in Romans 1:20 (NASB), “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
The songs around us show up vividly in Isaiah 55:12 (ESV):
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
What would that sound like? What incredible sounds will accompany the Lord’s return and the worship around the throne?
For now, I want to tune in most of all to the sounds August mentions “the wind…in the air…in the light.” Those challenge me beyond the musical sounds of water and birds that I more often hear. I think He hopes we will tune in to the music all around us to remind us of His omnipresence, to encourage and comfort our hearts, to remind us we are not alone.
The sound I eagerly anticipate hearing is the sound of the trumpet that will announce His return. What a musical note that will be!
