Christian Middle

Sappy as it may sound, I really like good love songs.

I like hearing the pledges of faithfulness where the lover vows never to let the other down, and never give up on them. I smile listening about the astonishing joy the lover feels simply in seeing the beloved’s face, and the longing to be with the other as often as possible.

When I put on my “realism” hat, I see that the love chronicled in these songs largely reflects the intense burst of affection that accompanies “falling in love.” Even people in solid, long-lasting marriages don’t feel this passionately all the time. And, even when we love each other, we do let each other down, even hurt each other. Sometimes, we even mean to sting the beloved in retaliation for some slight we attribute to their inconsideration.

Recently, I heard on the radio one of the love songs* that was playing around the time of my wedding. If I could have gotten someone to sing it for me, I would have loved it to be part of the ceremony, because I felt it captured the promise of deep and long-lasting love we aspire to find in marriage.

It had been years since I’d heard it played on the radio, longer since I’d listened to it on my own. But when I heard it now, I could hear the voice of the Great Lover in the lyrics.

God is the One who can keep all the promises we make so blithely when we fall in love.

My challenge to you today is to listen with fresh ears to a long song and discover whether you, too, can hear the Lord’s profession of love for you.

*Here’s the song I re-heard:

Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer”

Longer than there’ve been fishes
in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there’ve been stars
up in the heavens
I’ve been in love with you.
Stronger than any mountain cathedral
Truer than any tree ever grew
Deeper than any forest primeval
I am in love with you.
I’ll bring fires in the winters
You’ll send showers in the springs
We’ll fly through the falls and summers
With love on our wings.
Through the years as the fire
starts to mellow
Burning lines in the book of our lives
Though the binding cracks and the
pages start to yellow
I’ll be in love with you.
Longer than there’ve been fishes
in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there’ve been stars
up in the heavens
I’ve been in love with you
I am in love with you.

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