A Way of Life

You are running  a few minutes late. The band has already started and people around you are singing. The song is an up tempo one that talks about God’s love and how he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Except that you don’t feel that. You aren’t quite there yet. Your kids have toothpaste in the hair and their clothes don’t match; your spouse is frustrated at something and you’re not quite sure what it is. Traffic was bad on the way to church and you are not sure why you came in the first place. All the easy seats are taken and you might have to squeeze in between some people with their eyes closed. What now?

Focus on the words. Yes, the words of the song. Hopefully the worship leader has chosen songs that are theologically rich and singable.  Songs that tell of who God is and what he has done for all of mankind, specifically you. While your church may have a hot band that can rival American Idol, the reason they are even up there is because of the words. The words are there to preach to us, for us to memorize and recall later when we are not surrounded by Christians. The words tell us of the Gospel and why Jesus had to suffer and die for our sin. The songs use words in a poetic, beautiful way that gives us a fresh perspective on our situation as sons and daughters of God. If ‘brevity is the soul of wit,’ then songs are witty ways of hearing the scriptures said another way.

Focusing on the words helps you focus less on the music. Your church may not have the best musicians but they play their best so that the Bride of Christ can sing to the Groom. Focusing on the words brings to mind pictures and stories from the bible, complementing the song.  Focusing on the words helps us forget our troubles and brings us closer to seeing heaven. Of the few things we know about heaven, we know for certain that we will be singing there. Revelations even shows a picture of God singing over us.  Now, how cool will that be! God singing over His people. ..do you think he’s a baritone, bass or tenor, hmmm…?

The words remind us to forgive each other.  They help us remember that God can heal our pain, clean our stain and turn our sorrows into songs of praise. And they might even help you get through the rest of Sunday with your toothpasted, non-matching kids and frustrated spouse.