The Signature on Every Page

Johann Sebastian Bach composed over a thousand works in his lifetime — cantatas, concertos, fugues, and chorales that still move audiences three centuries later. But perhaps the most remarkable thing Bach ever wrote was not a melody. It was three small letters.

At the bottom of nearly every manuscript, Bach inscribed the initials S.D.G. — Soli Deo Gloria. "To God alone be the glory." And at the top of each new composition, he often wrote J.J. — Jesu Juva. "Jesus, help me."

Think about that. Before a single note was written, Bach declared his dependence on the Almighty. And after the final measure was complete, he declared that none of it belonged to him.

Bach was not writing for the courts of Europe, though kings listened. He was not writing for fame, though his name endures. He understood something that anchored his entire life: purpose is not about what you produce. Purpose is about Whom you produce it for.

Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Bach lived those words with ink and quill.

You may never compose a symphony. But every day, El Shaddai places a blank page before you — your work, your relationships, your ordinary Tuesday afternoon. The question is not whether your life will make a sound. The question is whose initials you will write at the bottom.