It's an incredibly important part of my life. I always have music playing, sometimes it's loud and it's being played so I can dance about my room and sing while I'm supposed to be cleaning; sometimes it's just white noise for when I'm writing an essay or reading; sometimes it's something that I listen to and really, really listen to it, taking in the words, the melody, the harmony, the everything.
Music brought me closer to God.
When I was little, and I used to go to church with my godparents when we were visitng them, the hymns used to make me cry. It was a song that made me suddenly realise that I wanted - no, I needed God in my life. When I became a fairly regular church-goer, the first thing I did was ask to be involved in the worship group. My godbrother and I have often talked about looking into becoming worship leaders along the same lines of Tim Hughes and Lex Buckley. We're only ever half-joking.
The point is, music is one of those things that unites us. I don't think there's one song on my iPod that doesn't remind me of someone. It might be as simple as the song having appeared in a film I'd seen with a friend - but every song I listen to has an emotional connection to someone or something.
So with that in mind, I often wonder how non-Christians react to music that isn't Christian music but is nonetheless written or performed by Christians. One immediate example springs to mind: Owl City.
Now, Owl City is an artist that divides a lot of people. Personally, I loved Fireflies at first but after the tenth day of hearing it at work it started to grate on me. But for me, it's all about Meteor Shower.
I can finally see that you're right there beside me
I am not my own, for I have been made new.
Please don't let me go, I desperately need you.
The lyrics, the imagery - so much of it is Jesus-centric. Even the syntax of the lyrics scream to me, this is about God. I have read so much debate about this - some say it's between him and God, others say that it's between him and someone he's fallen in love with.
I find it interesting that the argument people put forward for this not being about God is that it's a song written for someone who has been and will always be by his side but they've only just realised this; someone who has turned his life upside down and all for the better; someone whom he loves so ardently that he cannot imagine being parted from them, not now, not ever.
... Sorry, are you sure we're not talking about God here?
Of the people who do say that this is a song between two people in love, they all seem to notice something unusual about the love this singer has for the other person. Words like all-consuming, passionate, life-changing frequently come into play - words that don't tend to be used to describe a relationship. How interesting, then, that for Christians, these are the kinds of words we use to describe the relationship we all have with our Father. I can't help but wonder, when it comes to a song like this which feels so much like worship - do non-Christians subconsciously pick up on the Christian elements of it, the fervour of our (and Adam's) love for God - but simply transplant it to the kind of relationship they can best identify with?
I don't know, it's not for me to decide how other people interpret this song. But it does seem to me that they are, unbeknownst to them, tapping into the love of a believer for their God.
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