I love you even if you think that I don't
Sometimes I find you doubt my love for you, but I don't mind
Why should I mind, Why should I mind
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
Can anybody love anyone so much that they will never fear
Never worry never be sad
The answer is they cannot love this much nobody can
This is why I don't mind you doubting
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
And maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be
The door always must be left unlocked
To love when circumstance may lead someone away from you
And not to spend the time just doubting
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
What is Love anyway, does anybody love anybody anyway
--Howard Jones What is Love
Today these words were resurrected in my mind...somehow my subconscious dug them up from many years ago, when I was in high school and this song was on the radio. I used to think this song was sad. I believed it was saying that no one could ever really Love anyone. But a closer look today revealed something else; it became obvious to me, for the first time, that this song could be perceived as spiritual in nature.
My curiosity was piqued, and in my quest for meaning to this song, I discovered that Howard Jones, the author, practices Nichiren Buddhism. However, I think in many ways these words are universal. If any of us believe in God, we will inevitably at some point doubt God's Love for us. Our understanding of Love is so limited by our human nature we can't help but wonder if God's Love is really real, truly unconditional. Is it really possible that God loves us so thoroughly that our doubts are acceptable to God? As humans, we cannot comprehend this measure of Love, but it does exist.
This song touches me in its last verse. I just wonder if those words don't personify how God views us, how God Loves us? Could we think, for a moment, that God may Love us so much that the door is always left unlocked, even as we pursue our own lives, even, maybe, apart from God? Does God still love us even when we wander away?
My curiosity was piqued, and in my quest for meaning to this song, I discovered that Howard Jones, the author, practices Nichiren Buddhism. However, I think in many ways these words are universal. If any of us believe in God, we will inevitably at some point doubt God's Love for us. Our understanding of Love is so limited by our human nature we can't help but wonder if God's Love is really real, truly unconditional. Is it really possible that God loves us so thoroughly that our doubts are acceptable to God? As humans, we cannot comprehend this measure of Love, but it does exist.
This song touches me in its last verse. I just wonder if those words don't personify how God views us, how God Loves us? Could we think, for a moment, that God may Love us so much that the door is always left unlocked, even as we pursue our own lives, even, maybe, apart from God? Does God still love us even when we wander away?
Something to think about.
6 comments:
hi erin, you wrote: "Could we think, for a moment, that God may Love us so much that the door is always left unlocked, even as we pursue our own lives, even, maybe, apart from God? Does God still love us even when we wander away?"
what i've come to for myself is that God's life is my life, and my life is God's life, and being "apart from" God or wandering "away" from God are not real except in my mind. maybe a scripture that relates is "noting can separate us from the Love of God." why? because we live, and breath, and have our being in him and he in us. sometimes it's difficult to communicate. if i say "me and God," the "and" speaks to separation. maybe God is the tree and i am the branch...one life flowing through it all, yet manifesting itself in all these different branches.
Erin,
I thought I was the only Howard Jones fan left in the world. His lyrics are all amazing, enlightening, and refreshing.
One of the greatest lines ever written is:
"Do you feel scared?
I do,
but I won;t stop and falter."
What an encouragement to be real and persist. Thanks for posting this. Now I'll be singing Hojo songs in my head all day!
Jim - I like this "being "apart from" God or wandering "away" from God are not real except in my mind." I have never heard it articulated that way, but I so agree. Again, it's a case of us trying to put human characteristics on God...because as humans we can be "away" or "apart" from each other...so it's hard to imagine a God who is always near.
Hehe Kevin, HoJo was the first "real" concert I ever went to...his music never failed to make me feel better...especially the one you quoted, "Things Can Only Get Better". One of my all time favorites. I haven't followed him for a long time now, but yesterday just as I was thinking about posting here, "What is Love" came into my head.
It's just yesterday that I began to recognize the spiritual nature to his music, and it was encouraging to me.
Erin, I've been thinking about this line: "Sometimes I find you doubt my love for you, but I don't mind". I think doubt can be a gift. It leads us out of complacency, out of feeling smug in believing we have all the answers. It can create within us the soul of a wanderer, an adventurer, seeking what is real, seeking truth. Doubt is an active word, and not one for the faint of heart. It keeps pulling at your spirit, and many I know who have doubted greatly have eventually arrived at a place of deep faith and love. Thanks for a thought provoking post.
Anne - I completely agree. I was just speaking to a friend today about how I sometime wanting to return to that place of easy and clear answers about matters of faith...but then I think about it for a minute, and I wouldn't give up the wandering spirit for anything now.
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