In his wonderful little book Surprised By God: How And Why What We Think About The Divine Matters, Chris E.W. Green introduced me to the genius of Henry Ossawa Tanner. Tanner was an African American artist who painted The Banjo Lesson in 1893 after visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Suffering from typhoid fever, Tanner’s doctor recommended that he spend time taking in mountain air.
Staged within the confines of a small cabin, The Banjo Lesson depicts the light from a hearth fire enveloping an older man and a young boy. Holding the banjo with two hands, the boy gazes downward focusing and concentrating on his grandfather’s instructions. So that the boy will not be encumbered by its weight, his grandfather holds the banjo gently with his left hand. He wants his grandson to fully appreciate the rewards of music through his own discipline and hard work.
It seems God wants the same for us – that we exercise discipline and hard work – growing in the grace he so freely gives. We misunderstand grace if we relegate all self-effort to “works” and “self righteousness.” Why? Because we are called to discipline and hard work as we grow in the awesome, empowering grace of God. Jesus, in his earthly ministry, modeled that obedience is disciplined attentiveness to what God wants (John 5:19).
In The Banjo Lesson, Henry Ossawa Tanner is showing us a young boy who is just learning to play and has difficulty holding the instrument by himself. This is why the boy’s grandfather is embracing his grandson and helping him hold the banjo, allowing the boy to stand and play by himself. Neither one is looking at the other but focusing their attention on the making of music. Chris E.W. Green concludes:
“No doubt, as this child grows physically and skillfully, the master will give him even more room. And their attentions will continue to fuse, more and more tightly, until the student knows what the master knows. In much the same way, as we go from faith to faith, learning to obey more fully, our attention increasingly fused with God’s, we find ourselves obeying without self-regard.”
What does it mean to be a Christ follower (a good banjo player)? It means paying disciplined attention to our skillful teacher who will always be sitting behind us (so to speak) helping us play on our own. The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the great teacher inspires (William Arthur Ward). In the years you are given, be inspired to make beautiful music!