The power of Love

I have a fascination with local radio. I might be the only millennial to still listen to a car radio. (I also have CDs that aren't very "millennial" of me either.) Local radio is a good way to get a “vibe” for the town you are in. You get to hear about local businesses and events that are going on around town. I find it helpful and entertaining.

For example, when I moved to Virginia, I found an awesome station that my whole family could agree to listen to. It was branded as an “oldies” station, but that’s a relative term. My only qualm was that almost every time I turned this station on, “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News was either already playing or was about to play. Don’t get me wrong! I love me some Huey Lewis, and if this station was any indicator, so did the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, because it seriously played all the time. I digress… 

Naturally, when I moved back to Tri-Cities, I went through all my favorite stations to see what had changed. It might not seem like it to some, but a lot can change in three and a half years. I didn't listen to much Christian radio in Fredericksburg, so I was excited to hear Positive Life Radio again. I listen to it occasionally to catch myself up on some of the more “mainstream” Christian music. A song by Matthew West came on one afternoon. It came out in 2019, but I had never heard it. The song is called “Truth Be Told” and talks about what we think it should look like to live like a Christian versus what it should look like to live like Jesus.

The chorus begins by saying you are fine when you’re not. I adore the last part of the chorus that says: 

There’s no failure, no fall, and there's no sin you don't already know,

 so let the truth be told.

I love being reminded that it’s not possible to surprise God. He has seen it all. I also think people tend to assume that they have done the ONE thing that was so bad that they can't call themselves a Christian or have a relationship with God. I don't believe that to be true. Neither does Matthew West because the next verse in the song talks about how churches love to say, "come as you are," but if they were living like that, then the church would be a much more popular place than it is. I remember sitting in my car yelling, “AMEN” at that part. The idea of "being called" applies to everyone, but unfortunately, not everyone feels like they can or should answer that call for many reasons.

As is often said at Hillspring, we as Christians are called to be a people of hope. Jesus died so that everyone could have hope. We aren’t the ones who get to decide who deserves that hope. There is no prerequisite to having a relationship with God.

I think if the gospel were written in 1985, there could have been a verse that said:

“Don’t need money, don’t take fame, don’t need no credit card to ride this train.”

Because that, indeed, is the power of God's love.

Kelsey Wenrich

Community &Connections Coordinator