I love songs that talk about the love of Jesus.
I didn’t used to. Never really understood it. And I certainly couldn’t relate to those emotional women who waxed poetic about Jesus. What was up with that?
You see, when I was very young, a cult tried to make me hate and fear Jesus. I won’t go into detail, but they would assign a man from their group to fill the role of a false Jesus. This fake encouraged me to trust him, but then turned away from my pleas or even helped the others torment me. It was nothing like the real Jesus–but I was too young to know that. And so, though I may not have actively hated the real Jesus, I sure didn’t think much of Him. No trust, certainly no love, only dutiful obedience out of fear.
But through years of receiving healing ministry, of growing in faith, and yes, in trust, I’ve learned that His love for me was very real. If you’d like to read about a time when He uniquely revealed it, please go to my “about” page at http://cordsofgrace.com/about/
Anyway, we sang a lot of songs about Jesus’ love during worship this morning. Every time the words referred to the depth of His love, my tears started again. Last week one of my favorites was on the list. The first line of the chorus says, “Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty.” And that’s exactly what I’ve done–traded the ashes of my torment and dissociation for the beauty that He sees in me. The beauty He has shown me.
But before that lovely chorus starts, the singer declares “You’ve won my heart”. I’ve always loved this song, the haunting melody and the words of trust and declaration. But in the past week or so I’ve begun to realize just how far He has brought me, from ashes to beauty and from death to life. I can see how He has gently wooed me, drawing me in by His tender persistence. He never pushed, never demanded, never got angry at my lack of response. He just loved me to Him.
And now I know . . . He’s won my heart.
all illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
*The song is by Don Moen, titled “At the Foot of the Cross”