Musical Revelations

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love music. It energizes me, cheers me, soothes me, de-stresses me and puts me to bed at night. I like most types of music... and have my favorites, even at church.

I was given a CD at church  about a while back and I like 2 of the songs really well. Over the past month, I found myself skimming through the CD just to get to these 2 songs specifically and wanting to share them with others. What's more interesting is that tonight, while driving home from work, I had an "Ah-Ha" moment.

I know exactly why they appeal to me... besides being good songs. It's my emotional connection to them.
It's NOT about the topic of the songs- though they are both sweet. They both reflect my thoughts and emotions about God.

"The Prodigal" is a musical version of the bible story, "The Prodigal Son." It is not one of my favorite stories. However, the message of the story is about "redemption" and "restoration." THOSE are the key emotional words that really triggered me to write this post.

We all sin. We all stray away from God. Being able to come back to God and be fully restored is a powerful thing. It's really an amazing thing, born of love and God's redeeming plan for each of us. My salvation was bought by Jesus and I can never be "good enough" to deserve it. If I dwell too deeply on that topic, I can come away feeling badly about myself- thinking of all the mistakes that I have made and the things I should have done better. The message of "The Prodigal," is not only a story of being ABLE to come back to God, but being WELCOMED back. It warms my heart in a way that only a moment of pure love can.

The other song that I like so much is called, "You Are My Child."  The song is about a father coming home after work to be met at the door with all the anxious and excited demands of little ones- "play with me, read me a book," etc. It makes me smile as I think of the Pastor and his brood of children. On one level, the song reflects the father's thoughts that he wants to enjoy his children while they are little. On the other level, it touches upon God's great love for us as his "children."

The lyrics say, "You are my child and I am really pleased with you."  It is an amazing thought that in spite of all that I know about myself, God could be pleased with me. That touches me in a place where soul is fragile. It's not my default position to know that God or others are pleased with me. Staying off the "naughty list" is more in keeping with my daily state of mind.

As a side note- I do hope that as a parent I remember to tell my children that I am pleased with them!

Thank you to Pastor Whitlow of Victory's Crossing Church for sharing his musical gift. A larger thanks to God for allowing me to feel the love through the music.