"All we did was nothing, but Love still came!"

     Last night I was chatting with a friend about music; what new songs they recommended, any bands/artists they preferred. We talked for a while and shared some new songs and I learned about two new bands, which is very exciting, especially since I love the groups lyrics.
     Luminate is a christian rock band that started in 2005. Samuel Hancock, the lead singer, is the youngest member. He had just started college, but had been a rebellious teenager, and the first two members of the band were wary of adding someone who still "had some growing up to do." Despite their worries God brought them through and apparently Sam has grown up enough (haha..). Their song Banner Of Love is such a great song...so great that you have to listen to it so the lyrics speak to you, like they did to me. 
     Samestate is also a christian rock band that started in 2008, which makes it a fairly new band. The singers all come from Kansas, which explains the "ya" in their song Shadows. My favorite song of theirs so far is Hurricane (the lyrics are posted below). The song spoke to me because we talked about Gods' sacrificial love in Pilgrim Camp. I mean what did we do to deserve such agape and sacrifice? NOTHING! Jesus gave his life for us because he loved us first, before we even knew him. He was thinking of us on the cross as he died that horrible death, and his love still comes even though we sent him there! Thank you Jesus for your unconditional Love.

HURRICANE - Samestate

Verse 1:
The tide has turned around,
We’re washing away,
With thunder and rain,
You’ll be back again,
It’s getting hard to believe,
And even harder to see,
That You could love,
Those like me.
Cause what do we really do
To deserve love so true,

Chorus:
Now all at once heads are spinning faster like a hurricane,
Cause all we did was nothing
But the love still came,
And it’s bringing in Good News,
His love is comin' back,

Verse 2:
What if I never cared,
But now I do,
With only hours left,
How is it I still choose
Cause what did we really do
To deserve love so true,

Chorus:
Now all at once heads are spinning faster like a hurricane,
Cause all we did was nothing
But the love still came,
And it’s bringing in Good News,
His love is comin' back,
For all of us who have a hard time
Getting it through our brains,
That all we did was nothing
But the love still came, 
And it’s bringing in Good News,
Love is comin' back for you,
Oh, for you, oh

'Cause what do we really do?
I don't get itOh, what do we really do?
I don't get itOh, what do we really do?
Sometimes we don't have to understand.

Picture Perfect Love

The word "Love" is thrown around in our society as a word to describe both the shallow and the built-up marriages. It also is tossed around in dating relationships that may fall apart. It's used by parents when they hug their children; parents who may leave and abandon their children thinking "it's the right thing to do for their kids at the moment." I can tell you right now, that is not the love God has for us. His love is sacrificial and self-denying. It endures, forgives, and fully satisfies.

In the Old Testament the hebrew word used to describe Gods love is Hesed. It means: faithful commitment, chosen, and without regard for the lovableness of the object loved. That seems "unfailing" to me. In the New Testament the Greek word is Agape. It is best described by John 15:13.
It's a love that will stop at nothing to express itself to the other. The dictionary states it as: unselfish love of one person for another without sexual implications; brotherly love; a love feast. It involves loving people who are lovable, but also people who are unlovable. God planted in everyone a longing for that love.

Our relationships are supposed to mirror that love, especially our marriage. We can't express that love all by ourselves though. We will need to ask God for help.  So, with Gods help let us all show the world what true, unfailing love is!
(I thought "Stolen" from Brandon Heath summed up God's love quite well)