“Thanks Mom! See you in a half-hour.”

During my teen years, every Saturday morning, my mother drove me to Harry’s Music, the local music store, for my guitar lessons. Harry’s Music has been a beloved fixture amongst local musicians since opening in 1946 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is a photo of the original store. It relocated a short distance away in 2012.

Musical instruments. Records. Sheet music. Music lessons by local professional musicians. It had everything. But what made it most special were the owners’ connections with the local school music programs. Even when I did not have my lessons, I would frequently catch the bus and spend hours in the shop looking at different record albums or perusing music instruction books. The background was filled with the sounds of customers trying out new instruments. Local musicians frequently dropped in for a bonus.

Decades later, music stores like Harry’s are a rarity, replaced by big box dealers or internet sites dedicated to purchasing and selling everything related to music. Despite these obstacles, I sometimes long to own a music store like this. Although one always begins a business to be profitable, it is the camaraderie I seek. I want to meet local musicians and discuss the latest musical trends, debate the merits of different teaching approaches, and help them connect with the instrument of their dreams. Like Harry’s music, I want to create a family. Isn’t this what God does with His family, the Church?

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

When we confess and repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become a part of His Church, the Body of Jesus Christ. We are no longer wandering souls, searching the world to satisfy our selfish needs. All our desires and needs are now fulfilled through faith in Jesus Christ. All the answers to our questions about life are found in the Bible. 

Harry’s music provided a source for all things musical by creating a family. God provides the source for salvation and eternal life by granting us an heirship through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.