Love Song

Love Song, by Third Day 

I’ve heard it said that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves
How many times has he broken that promise
It has never been done.
I’ve never climbed the highest mountain
But I walked the hill of calvary

Chorus:
Just to be with you, I’d do anything
There’s no price I would not pay
Just to be with you, I’d give anything
I would give my life away.

I’ve heard it said that a man would swim the ocean
Just to be with the one he loves
How may times has he broken that promise
It can never be done
I’ve never swam the deepest ocean
But I walked upon the raging sea

Repeat chorus

(Bridge)
I know that you don’t understand
the fullness of My love
How I died upon the cross for your sins
And I know that you don’t realize
how much that I gave you
But I promise, I would do it all again.

Just to be with you, I’ve done everything
There’s no price I did not pay
Just to be with you, I gave everything
Yes, I gave my life away.

I think I first I heard this song when Robby sang it over the summer at the last Fuel before school started. It was a small group that night since no one was back on campus yet, and those who had been with us over the summer were at home the last week before moving back for the year. I think it was even the first Fuel we had at the Spiritual Growth House. 

It was one of those evenings where you could feel every song rising straight to heaven, where you knew God was listening. The presence in the room was electric yet somehow calming, more peaceful than I had felt all summer. I sometimes wonder how many people are lucky enough to have those moments. Certainly I don’t deserve them, but God gives me a glimpse of what I’m working towards. It’s in those moments where I don’t just sing each word of the songs in the hopes of honoring Him, but I feel the worship coming from somewhere I can’t get to alone. Hopefully you know what it’s like, those times where you almost can’t sing the words because your throat is tightening and you’re just overcome past the point of recognizing yourself anymore.

This song by Third Day brings me to a place like that nearly every time I listen to it. As lame as it is for me to reference this point, I’ve had a rather oddball “love life;” but this song, this amazing song shows me how full it really is. Why would I need to worry about whether someone thinks my new outfit is cute when there already was Someone who died the most miserable death possible…just for me. Listening to each line reminds me how much Someone loves me, wants to be with me. He is trying so hard to get my attention and I keep looking away. (Pop culture reference, imagine somebody checking out Alfalfa from the Little Rascals when Justin Timberlake is two feet away…meh, bad example but it works.)

The point of the matter is, when I am distracted (and my personal stumbling block distraction is primarily those of the male species), I can’t reach those moments where I feel fully connected to God. I feel like we’re trying to talk on the phone, but I’m being that person on the line who keeps taking every call on the other line or is trying to watch Oprah and chat at the same time. You can’t have a conversation like that. God wants me undivided. He doesn’t want a little attention here, and a little attention there. That’s why I thank Him for giving Third Day this song. He knows I’m a hopeless romantic. It snaps my attention, and I get lost in the message. Goosebumps cover my skin, my eyes well up, my anxieties lessen, and my heart is captured.

Why can’t I be like that always? Why does God need a ploy to get me to look at Him? Human nature, I suppose; but that’s a cop-out answer because it takes some of the blame off of me personally and generalizes the issue so I don’t feel so guilty. But really, it’s the same story all throughout history. God has my attention, I’m madly in love and want to do anything for Him…but ten minutes I forget that surge of emotion. Thousands of years ago, God caught the attention of Hebrew slaves and freed them with no mean demonstration of power, they were madly in love with Him and wanted to follow wherever He led…but ten minutes later they were worshipping a fake cow. Later down the road, God led a humble shepherd boy to take down a giant and defeat the odds to become the king of Israel, David was madly in love with Him and wrote the psalms to prove it…but ten minutes later, he didn’t think God would see him steal a wife and murder a husband. Some time later, God’s wonders and miracles were shown to all the people in Jerusalem, and they laid down palm branches and coats so even His donkey wouldn’t have to step on the dirty streets…but ten minutes later, the people had Him tortured and killed. Human nature at its worst.

Be it for better or worse, God knows us. He knows how forgetful we are. That’s what makes the words to this song mean even more to me. If Jesus were singing it, He wouldn’t be blindly singing about some summer love; it’s a genuine “I know what you are but I love you anyway!” kind of emotion. In short, God knows that I will forget, but He knows that I try to stop that from happening and He helps keep my attention. He loves me enough to put up with everything I put Him through, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. All that leaves me to do is accept His love and thank Him. Thank Him everyday.