Hymns

I've been listening to hymns in my car lately and it has been so good for my soul. When I first started to follow Christ I loved the contemporary worship songs like "Blessed Be Your Name" and "I Rest". I connected with the straightforward truth of what they were saying and I loved the repetition of the lyrics. And though I still like to rock out to a lot of those songs, hymns have become more and more of a joy to sing as I have continued to grow in my relationship with Christ. I love the richness and depth of the lyrics in hymns.

And though it's good to sing songs that have minimal, straightforward, repetitive lyrics, lately I have found myself wanting to sings songs with more "meat" to them. Which is why I like hymns so much; they are very meaty. Sometimes they are so meaty that I'm not even sure what they mean and I have to stop and think about what is being said. But when I figure out what those lines really mean, they become even more meaningful to my heart as I sing them out to the Lord at the top of my lungs (while the person in the car next to me gives me a strange look).

Don't get me wrong I still love when hymns are redone to be upbeat and loud. I'm not one for standing in my pew with my hymn book drearily singing "How Great Thou Art". But I think I would prefer to sing "In Christ Alone" rather than "He Is Good". Not because "He Is Good" is a bad song, not at all, but because my heart connects more with the truth that I sing in "In Christ Alone".

And let me let you off the hook.... you don't have to agree with me. But if you struggle with singing hymns, like I once used to, let me help you out a little. Some of the hymns I have been listening to in my car are by a band called Page CXVI and I think they have done an amazing job with the hymns they sing. Here are some of my favorites.

In Christ Alone


Come Thou Fount


Joy


If you wish to buy any of their albums you can find them here. Enjoy!

Elder Brother Syndrome

This is an excerpt from "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller. He is speaking about the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son and how the older brother lacks an assurance of the fathers love for him.

           "But perhaps the clearest symptom of this lack of assurance is a dry prayer life. Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations with God. Think of three kinds of people - a business associate you don't really like, a friend you enjoy doing things with, and someone you are in love with, and who is in love with you. Your conversations with the business associate will be quite goal-oriented. You won't be interested in chitchat, With your friend you may open your heart about some of the problems you are having. But with your lover you will sense a strong impulse to speak about what you find beautiful about him or her.
           These three kinds of discourse are analogous to forms of prayer that have been called "petition," "confession," and "adoration." The deeper the love relationship, the more the conversation heads toward the personal, and toward affirmation and praise. Elder brothers may be disciplined in observing regular times of prayer, but their prayers are almost wholly taken up with a recitation of needs and petitions, not spontaneous, joyful praise. In fact, many elder brothers, for all their religiosity, do not have much of a private prayer life at all unless things are not going well in their lives. Then they may devote themselves to a great deal of it, until things get better again. This reveals that their main goal in prayer is to control their environment rather than to delve into an intimate relationship with a God who loves them."

Cherishing Christ

It's a known fact that marriage is difficult. It's also a known fact that you really have no idea how sinful you are until you get married. But one thing that I was unaware of before I got married was how hard it is to be a Christian and be married. Not that the two are incompatible, they're not, but that I have had to start relearning how to be a Christian as a wife, because it's different than being a Christian as a single woman.

My life has completely changed from how it was a year ago. My schedule is different. The things that I spend my time on are different. And my priorities are completely different. Through all this change in my life I have lost an affection for Christ. Not because I wanted to, but more because I've been distracted and my heart hasn't been set on him. I've really only been going to church because that's what I'm supposed to do. I read my Bible because I'm supposed to. And I've just gotten way to caught up in other things, and my heart has started to grow indifferent.

And frankly, it's started to scare me.

So I am in the process now of learning how to cherish Christ again. I am attempting to fill my life with Christ centered things like listening to teachings and reading Christ centered books. Prayer is starting to ignite my heart again, especially when it's with other believers. And I am starting to feel a burden for the lost that I haven't felt in a while.

But I don't want to just try and be a better Christian. I don't want to muster up my faith in order that I might do they right things. I want my heart to truly cherish Christ. I don't want Christ for his stuff, I want Christ for Christ.

I have been reading a book called The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It's a great book, I highly recommend it. In the book he talks about the parable of the Prodigal Son, which he says should really be called the parable of the Two Lost Sons, because it's just as much about the older brother as it is about the younger brother. And he says that both brothers were really only interested in what the Father could give them instead of just wanted the Father himself.

Once I'm in a place where I don't cherish Christ above all else, I am in a place of sin and disunity from Him. And I don't want to be there. So if you think about it, you can pray for me. Pray that Christ would stir my affections for him and him alone.