Josh Medlock, Director of Student Ministries
One of my favorite things to do is scour the Internet for new music.
I love the feeling I get when I stumble across something that speaks to my soul.
Something that gives me strength or compels me to action.
Music, for me at least, does this in ways nothing else can.
Lately it seems my drive to find music is … well, it’s in park, not drive.
I find myself lacking the motivation to even start looking.
Honestly, I feel like most music I hear today sounds the same as every other song playing on every other station.
Same words, same three or four notes, same message (if there is one).
I can hear the youth group saying, “Josh, that makes you sound old.”
But that’s how I feel. Music has lost its soul. Nothing excites me about it.
As I think about this more and more, this feeling seeps into other parts of my life as well.
My outlook on our country and the deep divide that gets deeper by the day is bleak.
When I drive past the church and see signs on the doors that tell me, “not yet,” I feel a twinge of sadness, fear and even despair.
The music has no tune I recognize anymore. The lyrics don’t make sense.
This is how I have felt for some time.
About a week ago, as I studied and prepared for an upcoming sermon, I found myself humming.
Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, except it was.
I was actually, subconsciously thinking about music.
So I paused to think about the tune I was humming … Child of Love by We The Kingdom.
The words struck me.
They speak to where I want to be, not where I’m at.
Nothing can change the way
You love me
Nothing can change the way
I belong to You
Yes I do
Nothing can separate
I’m gonna climb a mountain
I’m gonna shout about it
I am a child of love
I found a world of freedom
I found a friend in Jesus
I am a child of love
I am a child of love. Nothing can change the way you love me. Nothing can separate.
These are words I needed to hear.
I want to climb a mountain. I want to shout about it. I need to.
But in this climate I find it difficult to get motivated and even more difficult to do it.
We are called to share this love with everyone we know and everyone we meet.
Right now, it may be hard to meet new people.
I know I need to start with the people I know. That is exactly what I will do, starting with you.
So hear these words today and know that you are loved.
Know that nothing can separate that love from you and God.
Know that freedom is found in Jesus, and our witness to this is the grace given to us so freely by a God who truly loves each and every one of us.
These are in fact very difficult times. More so for some than others.
I do not know your situation.
I do not know your burdens or your fears.
But I do know this: we all share in the same love and grace that gives us strength and peace.
May peace and comfort find you in these difficult times.
From the ashes shall rise what God needs us to be.
I hope you take some time to listen to Child of Love.
Who knows, maybe you will find yourself humming it, too.
First Reflections 