Why write songs when we have Matt Redman?

Why write songs when you have Matt Redman? That question was enough to put the breaks on any initiative. In not so many words, a similar question was posed to me several years ago. 

At first it stumped me, and I thought to myself,” yea you’re probably right, what’s the point. I’ll never be able to write like him !” Then I thought to myself, “Hang on a minute, who says I need to sound like MattRedman?” Now just to set the record straight, I am a huge admirer of Matt Redman’s great gift and have learnt a lot about the heart of worship from this great lead worshiper and have even had the privilege of meeting him and having him in our home in Mumbai.  Having said that I believe God has blessed each one of us with a unique set of gifts that will be expressed uniquely because we are all made different. There are no clones in God's scheme of things.

You may say India is a land for  Hindi and all the other languages in between. Might I add, and  English too? There is a rising urban populace in India whose first and heart language is English, as is in my case. So though my heart language is English, my life experiences are special because they come with the flavor of my land and I have a new song to sing and to give the world. How do I know this? Revelation talks about people from every tribe and tongue and nation worshiping before the throne of God. The Psalmists encourages us to sign “new Songs “ to God . So this includes the English speaking of India. Also in keeping with the prophetic words over my life I have begun to take steps of faith. 

God wants to hear new songs being sung that are coming out of India and not just America, the UK or Australia ( good as they might be)This conviction has helped spur me on among other things 

 Many of us have gotten stuck because we have got caught in the web of comparison and trying to be like someone else and then being discouraged because we will never match up.You were never meant to ! I will never be like Matt Redman and God does not want that of me. He wants to hear my sounds and my song.He wants to hear my hearts devotion and He wants me to write songs that will help others express their devotion to him.

 So even though we have Matt Redman and all the other excellent song writers ( and may their tribe increase !) I have a new song to sing to my God and I shall write and sing  them to the praise of His glory.

 I could write a lot about different styles of music and all that, but I think the point is made and in my reflections I hope I have encouraged you to begin to think, to dare to dream, to step out, to do something you've always wanted to do but not had the courage to. I would love to hear your stories as well. 

Do you have a song to sing? A story to tell? A poem to pen? a canvas to colour? a delicious cake to bake?The world will be a better place because of your gift. Imagine if no one painted because there was Leonardo Da Vinci, no one sculpted after Michael Angelo, no one wrote music because there was Mozart, no one discovered anything after Galileo . The list can go on. Wouldn't the world be such a dull, boring place?

Now go and write or do what ever it is you are gifted at. The world needs more and God deserves to be worshiped and glorified in all the richness that diversity has to offer. 

Navaz D Cruz

Sept 2013