Gloria

Last night, Garth and I went to "The Fire", a cool program that my church puts on once a month. The music is loud and the atmosphere is casual. The speakers are not pastors, but rather just regular folks sharing their ideas about God and faith.


Last night, the theme was "rock star evangelism" and was based on the band, U2. I'm a big U2 fan, but somehow I never knew that many of their songs are heaving influenced by their faith in God. Bono, the lead singer, is a devout Catholic and if you actually pay attention to their songs, you can see that in their lyrics. Well, I've jammed out to plenty of U2, but I never paid attention to the words. Last night, we sang the song "40", which is based on Psalm 40. I'd never heard it before. Here's the first line - "I waited patiently for the Lord, He inclined and heard my cry."

We also sang "I will follow", which I have previously sung a million times but somehow didn't realize that the lyrics were referring to his faith.


The message was all about finding a platform to share your faith. U2 uses their songs. They are world-famous rock stars, but they blatantly inject their faith into their music. If they can do that, can't we find a way to share our faith? It's a very good question, but one that has a simple answer - FEAR. We're all afraid of rejection or ridicule. What if people laugh or shun us for mentioning the "big man upstairs"? It's sad really. Jesus could sacrifice his life for us, but we can't bother to tell people what we're doing on Sunday morning, let alone invite people to come along.


It was a good message - one that really resonated with me. So, here I am...telling you. This is my small, feeble attempt to share my feelings and my faith.

Ironically, U2 came up on my my Pandora radio station today. It was a song that I've never heard before. It was called "Gloria", and I was definitely listening this time. It's a pure rock song, but the words are beautiful and I wanted to share them with you. Read below - is this a proclamation of faith or what? Enjoy!

Gloria

I try to sing this song
I, I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet
I try, I try to speak up
But only in you I'm complete

Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Gloria...Gloria

Oh Lord, loosen my lips
I try to sing this song
I, I try to get in
But I can't find the door

The door is open
You're standing there
You let me in

Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate

Oh Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to you
I'd give it to you

P.S. If you want the Latin translation for the chorus, it means "Glory in you, Lord / Glory, exalt [him]". Amen!