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That night as I walked home, I indulged in my own playlist. All the previous songwriters had a nugget of truth in their compositions. Human love is beautiful and frail. At its best, it consumes, and at its worst, it destroys. It fails to be the ultimate solace, and yet, in some ways, it is the best impersonation of what our souls truly desire. Because we were made for Love. We were made for God. And as I listened to my soundtrack, I found one more proof that we were made for God. Our souls find what all those musicians kept searching for, but we find it in Christ. Not just when we are walking in close fellowship with our Savior -- but each time we come crawling back after repenting of our rebellion. Not just when we are experiencing emotional highs in our relationship with Christ -- but in the darkest seasons of suffering. "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee." -- St. Augustine, Confession, Book 1  As I listened to my friend's soundtrack, I realized the musicians were making arguments. If only they could have heard all the arguments together. One said money isn't enough. The next, that success didn't satisfy. Another, even the comfort of their lover seemed empty. If they were to be believed, together they were building that case: nothing is enough. The natural reaction to this is hopelessness -- which also found its place among the many lyrics. And the fact that we recognize vanity (see Ecclesiastes) and despair is a heart-breaking proof that: We were made for God. The one place none of these songs turned to for solace.   Further on down the playlist, equally impassioned musical artists gave full vent to their frustrations. It was a duet, with both boyfriend and girlfriend, each voicing their disillusionment with love -- he jealously raging because she left him for another man and her bemoaning that he didn't treat her right and would never change. But they both agreed, human love was the same thing over and over.
Yes, because human love is not enough. He was jealous because he was right: this kind of love is designed to be exclusive. She was hurt because she was right: this kind of love is designed to be selfless. God designed love this way, an outflowing of His perfect character, perfectly loyal and willingly sacrificial. The fact that we seek what we cannot find in others nor give to others is proof: We were made for God.  I was listening to a friend of a friend's recording. And honestly, I tuned most of it out until I heard a line of lyrics: "The dark is not dark when you are there." I knew those words...but they don't apply to a person. They apply to God (Psalm 139:12).
The fact that we use them -- and other like descriptors to describe human love and human lovers -- is merely a demonstration of the truth: We were made for God, Who truly has dominion over darkness. He is not just a temporary emotional high like human love -- but an eternal Love that destroys ALL darkness. That is the lover the songwriter was longing for yet didn't know. Even in their celebration of a lover, the lyricist was giving voice to the true depth of their need. They thought this need would be satisfied in this person -- but as later songs would tell us, all human lovers fall short. Because we were made for God. |
The AuthorCome with me as we grow in fellowship with each other and our Savior to whom belongs the Amazing Escape from sin and death and the Amazing Journey into glorious life. Archives
August 2026
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