I’ve been thinking a lot about a certain song, and how it applies to the world of late. It’s the perfect song to think about this Christmas season. I think it’s safe to say we’re all feeling a collective sadness over the state of the world these days. No matter what side of the aisle you call your own (or neither, like me). ISIS, racism, refugees, climate, mass shootings, terrorism, politics. Yuck. And then there’s my own heart, which consistently lets me down. Pride, jealousy, anger, selfishness, a tendency to get grumpy when my kids all talk to me at once. Again, yuck.
But as I approach Christmas, I want to get outside all of that. I want to see above the madness of the world. Behind it, around it. Take a breath and get perspective on what truly matters. And when I ponder that, I land exactly where Ben Rector does…
I used to think I needed all the answers
I used to need to know that I was right
I used to be afraid of things I couldn’t cover up
In black and white
But I just wanna look more like love
I just wanna look more like love
This whole world is spinning crazy
And I can’t quite keep up
It’s the one thing around here
That we don’t have quite enough of
So I just wanna look a little more
Like love
I find the farther that I climb
There’s always another line
Of mountain tops
It’s never going to stop
And the more of anything I do
The thing that always ends up true
Is getting what I want
Will never be enough
So I just wanna look more like love
I just wanna look more like love
This whole world is spinning crazy
I can’t quite keep up
It’s the one thing around here
That we don’t have quite enough of
So I just wanna look a little more
Like love
Like love
Ben Rector has a boyish, yearning voice, but a lot more wisdom than his years warrant. It’s a lovely notion, to look more like love. Imagining everyone has a picture they carry around that represents them, and thinking what mine might look like sometimes…well, it’s not always love. But if it was, or if it could be, even a little bit more, what a fabulous thought. And then if everyone else’s picture looked like love, too…wow. That’s the whole reason we celebrate a little baby this month. It’s why he came. To tell the world about the author of love and help us find a way to Him. So people can look more like love themselves.
A weary world. Check. A thrill of hope. Yes, please.
So here’s my song for the month of December. Listen to it (More Like Love) because it sounds even better than the lyrics alone imply. May it point to the “new and glorious morn” that has broken. May it affect change in the way we handle the surrounding madness. And may we rejoice this Christmas.
Even in the midst of our weary world.