As a child of the mid-’70s and the ’80s I grew up listing to an eclectic range of music courtesy of my dad. The songs that captivated me most were from such bands as Yes, The Carpenters, Pink Floyd as well as those sung by singers such as Kenny Rodgers, Cliff Richard, and Carly Simon; all of which blared from either the car stereo or our house hifi. Even when I was bought my first Walkman and cassettes became affordable with my part-time job, this teenage girl I still found herself buying “old man’s” music alongside the bands and singers that graced the cover of her Smash Hits magazine, such as Five Star, Wham, Kylie and Jason, etc (now I am showing my age!).
As news hit last week of the death of American singer Michael Lee Aday, known to millions as Meat Loaf, I was instantly transported back to my 20s, on a disco floor and blaring out the lyrics (still perfectly memorised) to “I’d do anything for love (but I won’t to that).” Like many millions who listened to the lyrics I was captivated by its final mystery: what was the ‘that’ that he wouldn’t do?
This got me wondering about the things that I won’t (and don’t) do, even for those I truly and deeply love, and I admit that the list is plenty long, ranging from the big scary things like going on rollercoasters or visiting a moth enclosure to the little things; like emptying bins or remembering to put my shoes away.
Then as I do, I wondered about God, and whether there was anything that God wouldn’t do in showing God’s love to me, to you, to the world? And I realised that many of the songs I loved from an early age, and those that I still love today were the ones that told me a story. Stories of longing, heartbreak, and most of all love. These themes, which musicians, poets, and writers can make millions from with just one hit song, book, or publication, I now know are God’s themes, and that the same longing, heartbreak, and pursuing love is to be found throughout God’s story in our scriptures, in our hymns, in our prayers, and in our lives.
Last February I shared this poem, and I think it is worth sharing again, especially as I pray that each of us will give and receive a love(d) heart on February 14th.
How Much Do I Love?….
How much do I love God?
Do I wish to please God more than anyone else? Even myself
What would I be prepared to give up or do for God?
Am I happy to share my love for God with other people?
Do I accept, truly, that God is desperately in Love with me?
How much do I love my neighbour?
Do I take the trouble to be kind and helpful to the people I meet?
Do I rejoice in the right, or to my shame find satisfaction in other people’s faults?
Am I prepared to be put out for people, not for the sake of reward, but out of love?
How much do I love my enemy?
Do I know who my enemies are?
Why are they, my enemies? Is it through unhappy experience, fear, anger, misunderstanding?
If they have made me feel horrid – how have I made them feel?
Can I forgive them? Do I understand why they have hurt me?
Do I wish only the best for them, even if I actually dislike them as people?
How much do I love myself?
Do I love myself with the same Love that God has for me? Patient, understanding, caring, hopeful Love?
Or do I despair quickly and put a down on myself?
Does my love know when to challenge and correct – or is it the poorer love that is self-indulgent?
Do I love myself enough to take risks in faith and so follow Jesus more?
HOW MUCH AM I IN GODS LOVE?
Blessings,
Rev Kim