Christian Music (Part 1): Hymns

A good Christian song is more than a melody and some pious words. A good Christian song is a window into the believer’s heart. It stirs something deep inside for the listener, and points them in the direction of God. It should not merely provide a platform for the singer to show off how talented or devout they are – rather, listeners should be able to see through the singer into a human-Divine connection which is intimate, emotional, heartfelt, genuine… Here’s a list of songs that (I think) attempt to do just that!

The problem with making this list is that it’s hard to find recordings which capture what I like about these songs. Often the most beautiful songs are ruined by turning them into routine recitations (as when “Abide With Me!” is appropriated as the “official hymn” for the FA Cup) or showy flourishes which just showcase the singer’s range… Those versions can sound very nice, but they miss the original intent of the song! They become hollow decoration more than substance. They call the listeners attention to themselves rather than pointing them toward God. What a shame. It was hard to find recordings that completely embody the sentiment of the song, but I think these ones come close at least.

Without further ado, here are three traditional hymns that I consider to be beautiful expressions of Christianity (and indeed, of humanity).

Abide With Me

I first encountered this hymn in my LDS upbringing, and it is still one of my favourites today. Of course, the words have taken on a somewhat new meaning just as Jesus has taken on new meaning for me (some thoughts on that here: http://eph1-17.blogspot.ca/2013/08/adopted-by-god.html). This is one song that has been way overdone. Most versions of this song are very “showy,” and completely void of the intimacy that the lyrics seek to convey. So I had to go with an amateur recording – these three artists’ voices blend together beautifully without saying “Hey, look at me!” The performance is humble, as it should be for a song like this. Enjoy!

(I had trouble embedding this one, but here's the link)

Written in 1847 by Henry Francis Lyte only three weeks before his death, “Abide With Me” conveys the believer’s utter dependence on his Creator in his time of vulnerability (and really, always). The writer reflects on the uselessness and impermanence of much that the world values, and places his priority instead on God: “Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see, O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

Amazing Grace

Another classic that has become such a part of popular usage that its power and meaning could be missed. The version I’m including here is a variation of the original, but it’s well done. I’ve read that some people have changed the lyrics “a wretch like me” to lines which are less “self-loathing”; to me that’s disingenuous to author’s sentiments, because in a true Christian manner he perceived his life before knowing Jesus to be sinful and destructive (in this case, he was a slave trader in the 18^th century!). But one day he discovered God's radical mercy, and that's what this song famously conveys.

Jesus Paid It All

I mentioned this song in my last blog post, because I think it artistically echoes the point that Jesus made in this parable. “When I stand before the throne, I stand in Him complete; Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat.” Jesus is our only hope, my friends! You can do all the good works in the world, build that tower brick by brick, but it won’t get you to heaven. Man cannot reach high enough to get to God, but the good news (the gospel) is that God has reached down to man! That’s what Jesus is all about. Again, this is a contemporary version of a classic song.

Whatever your opinion of Christianity, I hope you can see in these songs what being a Christian means to believers – and more importantly, what God means to us. Next time I will continue this theme by sharing three contemporary worship songs that are worth checking out. God bless you!

Storytime with Jesus: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Continuing my series on my favourite parables that Jesus taught, here is the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (aka The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector). It is much shorter than the last one! Please read along with me, and I’ll discuss some thoughts below.

Jesus said…

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14)

Two Different Ways of Approaching God

I had a Bible in front of me from the time I learned how to read until adulthood, and I never remember coming across these five little verses. I thought that I was doing pretty well as far as teenagers went; I didn’t drink, use drugs, swear, etc. I was convinced that my church-going and striving to live the standards of my church kept me “pure” from the sin of the world. Comparing myself with the other students in my high school, I probably said a prayer very much like that of this Pharisee at some point or another in my life…

In hindsight, I was lost. The outward actions and outward appearance mean very little compared to the condition of the heart (see Matthew 23:25-29). When I encountered God in a meaningful way for the first time, I had nothing to offer – all I could do was (metaphorically) beat my breast and say “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It was only at that point that I experienced God’s grace and forgiveness for the first time – years of church-going couldn’t replicate that. Polishing an outward appearance couldn’t ever make me feel justified before God. Like other born again Christians, I now feel justified before God (!) not because of anything that I have done, but because of what Jesus has done for me! What an amazing liberating feeling that is! In the words of one of my favourite worship songs, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.”

Listen to what Jesus is telling you in this parable. Are you the Pharisee, trying to justify yourself before God with your works? Or are you the Publican, with no merit of your own to speak of, and all you can do is call out to God for forgiveness? Which prayer is yours? Think about this carefully – Jesus says only one of these two men was justified.

God bless you, and thank you for reading.

Storytime with Jesus: The Prodigal Son

Next I will begin a blog series about my favourite parables that Jesus told. A parable is a story which illustrates a concept or a lesson, perhaps better than a simple one-line statement could convey. Jesus regularly spoke in parables when he was presented with a question or a confrontation. Whether you have heard these stories before or not, I hope you can re-read them with me in their entirety before I discuss what they mean to me. I have copied the entirety of the text below for your convenience.

The first parable that I want to discuss is a well-known classic, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus tells this story in response to the Pharisees (uptight religious perfectionists) who criticized Jesus for eating with “sinners.” See all of Luke 15 for context.

Jesus said…

A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. (Luke 15:11-24)

My Thoughts: The Character of God

What I love most about this story is what it tells us about the character of God. Too often people think of God as a distant and judgemental authority figure who is just waiting for us to screw up so he can toss us into the pit of hell. Jesus portrays a God (represented by the father in the story) who stands in the field waiting for his child to return, and then runs to him when he sees him approaching. Jesus portrays a God who cares deeply for and eats with “sinners” like you and me.

This was a parable that struck me in a profound (and I believe God-sent) way one day leading up to my conversion. One day in June 2012, I was supervising my own son (he was two at the time) at an indoor park in a big city mall, and as he dashed from one end of the park to the other I lost sight of him. For a minute that lasted much longer in my mind, I panicked, searching desperately for him. When I finally found him I had such a wave of relief and joy. It was at that point that this parable came to mind. I hadn’t read it for years, but it came to me as though from heaven. It shortly occurred to me what God was telling me – THAT is how he feels about his children. When they are “lost” in this world, doing their own thing, he looks for them. When they come back to him, he celebrates and clothes them with love.

As an atheist I had the impression, based on my understanding of certain Old Testament stories, that the biblical God was actually quite cruel and morally deprived. That moment in the mall sent a profound message to me about God’s true character. And subsequent reading of Jesus’ words has continued to inform my understanding of God as a loving father who desperately desires the return of his children – so much so that he would literally die for us.

Jesus reveals God’s heart for us

God is incomprehensible to us – he exists outside of time, space, and matter. But he makes himself known to us through Jesus, in a way that we can better understand. As such, we can only understand the true character of God through the character of Jesus! As the Bible says, “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus – read about what he said and did. And I hope you agree that Jesus reveals the character of God in a very powerful way in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

If you feel distant from God, know that he will not force you back to the house – but he will be standing out in the field waiting for you to return. And he will run to you when he sees you returning. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8).

Next week, I hope to continue this series with another of my favourite parables that Jesus taught. God bless you!