Before you tune me out or call me sappy, let me explain.
My heart was rescued from despair the day I got saved. And then, like a perfect gentleman, God kept wooing me, showing up at the door of my heart with sweet flowers and invitations to walk with Him. You know the feeling… there isn’t a person in this world who doesn’t want to be pursued. It’s flattering. And I’m not just saying all this because I’m a girl either. What I’m talking about is built into every human being.
The Bible says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). God is not only the author of love, He is love Himself. And He has poured Himself into the hearts of every believer–regardless of gender, age, education, or background.
And because God is love, He loves love songs. He even dedicated a whole book in our Bible to this topic in the Song of Solomon. And consider the Book of Psalms. It was Israel’s hymnbook. It was their way of expressing themselves to God. Just a few of my favorite verses along these lines include:
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- Psalm 5:11, “But let those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.”
- Psalm 40:16, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”
- Psalm 91:14, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”
These are just a few that mention the love God has for us and His response to our love. My point is that God loves love songs, and I’ve come to love them too. The funny thing is, I’m not talking about worship songs. I’m talking about real love songs. I love to worship. Worship, in and of itself, is definitely an expression of my love and gratitude to God. But sometimes, it’s the courting, chasing, admiring songs of true love that grab my heart and make me think of my King.
I’ll give one example. My absolute favorite is Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion:
For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I’ll be forever thankful baby
You’re the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You’re the one who saw me through through it all
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me
These words were written for her husband, not God. But I’m not bothered that this song (and others like it) are considered secular and not Christian. When you love your Savior and you understand the love He has for you, then love becomes transcendent across all barriers. He is love and love songs cannot be written or expressed without His influence, so that’s what I hear.
I could give more examples but what I really wanted to communicate to you is how deeply you are loved by God. The enemy has tried to pervert every good thing God has given us. Don’t let him. If your heart longs for natural love, fall in love with God. Sing your love to Him and let Him sing it back to you. God will fill every crack in your heart with unfailing promises and unlike natural heartbreakers, He is faithful.
It’s not Valentine’s Day and I’m not as sappy as I might sound, but I love love songs for good reason and I hope it encourages you:
