I Cannot Stop Singing

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Roger E. Bruner

I’m back! No, nothing was wrong with me. Not physically, anyhow. I stopped posting for a while because I hadn’t written any new songs and was only re-posting previous posts. I have several new ones now. “I Cannot Stop Singing” is the newest. I can’t promise to post every Wednesday, but I’ll try to.

I will sing of God’s LOVE every morning.
And I’ll sing of His PRESENCE all day long.
I will sing of His FAITHFULNESS each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. refrain

I cannot stop singing about the Lord
And everything He is to me.
I cannot stop singing about the Lord.
His promises never fail.

I will sing of God’s GRACE every morning.
And I’ll sing of His MERCY all day long.
I will sing of His RIGHTEOUSNESS each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I will sing of God’s STRENGTH every morning.
And I’ll sing of His GUIDANCE all day long.
I will sing of His CONSTANT CARE each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I will sing of God’s JOY every morning.
And I’ll sing of His BLESSINGS all day long.
I will sing of His PERFECT PEACE each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I purposely upper cased words and phrases to make it easier for me to follow the lyrics. You may have noticed that the keywords in each stanza progress from one word or syllable to two and then to three.

I was inspired by Psalm 59: 16:

But I will sing of your strength,
    in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
    my refuge in times of trouble.

and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually

You may find a free lead sheet at

https://rogerbruner.com/pdf/I%20Cannot%20Stop%20Singing.pdf

It took two or three weeks to refine the lyrics and the melody even after I got started. I found it interesting to switch between C or G and G7 to match notes in the song. Not the normal G7 played on the first fret of the first string (an F note), but playing an F on the 3rd fret of the 4th string. That’s a lot of jumping back and forth at times.

I’ve spent several hours trying to record this song so you can hear how I do it, but I only had time for a vanilla version with voice and guitar. Somehow the light percussion I had been playing with got mixed in; the big problem was trying to play the drum machine while holding the cord a certain way to keep it from shorting out while I was recording. Kindly ignore any percussion that doesn’t make sense.

Anyhow, you may listen to it here: http://www.rogerbruner.com/tascam/I%20Cannot%20Stop%20Singing%20-%20VG.mp3

I’ve been teaching myself to play a uke — nothing fancy, just basic chords and strumming. And this song turned out to be a really good one to play that way. In fact, I would say the uke helped in developing the song.

Watch videos of some of my songs at https://www.youtube.com/@rogerbruner9714

I’m still writing novels, too. I’m going to change the tagline at the top of the following graphic because I’m afraid “quirky” probably doesn’t mean the same thing to every reader. My intended meaning is “How in the world did he come up with that story idea?”

Postcard Twenty-four Books – 4×6Download
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The Koala Song

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[This is the only recording of The Koala Song.]

A koala eats certain gum tree leaves,
And it always eats the kind it knows it needs.
A Believer feeds on the Word of God
And knows no other bread will do.

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
I’ve been to Australia seven or eight times  and consider it my second home. On each of those trips I visited an animal park where I was able to pet a koala and have my picture taken doing it.

Fascinating creatures.

Even though they look lethargic most of the time, I was once able to take  video footage of a koala running on the ground and of another jumping from branch to branch. Without the video, I wouldn’t believe it. They must be pretty healthy animals.

I may be wrong about this fact–the one I based “The Koala Song” on–but my understanding is that koalas are very picky about what they eat. Not only do they just eat gum tree (eucalyptus) leaves, but only certain kinds. They seem to have an instinct for knowing which ones are right for them–which ones are healthful.

As children of God, we know we should restrict our diets to certain kinds of influences. Some movies, TV shows, and books and periodicals are unhealthy for us as Christians. Better that we steer clear of them and feed on the Bible, the Bread of Life. That’s even healthier than feeding on books about the Bible.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Posted in Australia, Bible, Food, Gum Trees, Koala | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Like Waiting for Spring Rains

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[I recorded this old song for you. Listen here. A free PDF lead sheet is here. It’s in the key of D, but the chords for C are listed above the D chords.]

Be patient, my brothers, as you wait for the Lord.
Be patient, my sisters, but keep your hopes high.
Like a farmer who’s waiting or the spring rains to fall,
Be patient, my children; the Lord will come soon.

About This Song:
I don’t get to take credit for the simile this song uses. It comes directly from James 5:7-8…

7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (NIV)

If you’re like many other Christians, you look at how messed up the world is now and are convinced that Jesus will have to come again soon. How can the world continue to exist in such a sin-sorry state?

While that makes sense, I suspect people in Jesus’ day couldn’t imagine their world getting any worse, either.

So I have to accept Jesus’ statement that only God the Father knows the date and time of His return. In the meantime, His children need to continue going about the Father’s business–sowing the seeds of His Good News so that as any people as possible will be saved.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Christians, Farmer, Jesus' Return, Patience, Rain, rapture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Then Dawned Sunday

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

(Because of the importance of Easter in the Christian calendar, I am posting this song again this year. I’m including a link for a recording and one for the PDF of a free lead sheet as well. Note that there are a few minor discrepancies in the lyrics.)

Then dawned Sunday, the first day of the week,
When into the garden silently came
Troubled women to anoint the body of the Lord,
Who–Friday on a cross–had been slain.

These women had endured his trial; these women watched him die.
They wept as they saw his body torn by pain.
But they never stopped to think–they never realized–
That what he had told them was true:
That they’d see him in the flesh, alive again.

These women approached the tomb in the stillness of the dawn,
When they saw that the rock was gone from the door.
“Fear not,” an angel said, “the one you seek is not dead,
But has risen and lives today;
Go to Galilee; there you’ll see the resurrected Lord.”

Then dawned Sunday, the first day of the week,
When out from the garden joyously ran
Shouting women to proclaim that one who had been slain
Had lived, died, and arisen as God and man.

About this Song:
Roger-2021
For the Christian, every day is Easter. Rather than coming out of the tomb after being dead three days, however, Jesus wants to come alive through us.

This is one of my oldest songs–thirty to forty years. I used rhymes a lot in the early days of my song writing; although I seldom bother with them now, look at “Days, Hours, Moments” here to see a drastic exception.

This song also better reflects the folk sound that has played such an important part in my guitar playing and song writing than many of my more recent songs.

Because the Gospels differ in their details about Resurrection Morning, I had to make three decisions: Would one woman go to the tomb initially or several? And would there be one angel at the tomb or two? And would the angel tell the women about going to Galilee to see the risen Lord?

I don’t consider the differences between the biblical accounts to be significant; two truthful witnesses may see or experience the same event personally and still describe the details differently. If you doubt that, ask someone who’s close to you to relay something that happened to both of you and see if you don’t start correcting one another almost immediately.

One thing I didn’t like about the original lyrics was I had the angel saying Jesus’s “spirit will live with you evermore” as the last line in the third stanza. I’d done that to make a rhyme, but–unfortunately–that’s not what the angel told the women.

Jesus appeared to His disciples later. When He breathed on them, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” But that had nothing to do with what the angel had said.

Poetic license is one thing, but purposely misquoting the Bible is something else. For years I wanted to rewrite that line, but the change was slow in coming. I was limited by the fact that the last word had to rhyme with “door.”

A few years ago the line shown in the lyrics above came to mind after I’d already settled on a different new line. I don’t think most people will even notice that it uses a “false” rhyme (door/Lord).

Although this song still doesn’t include everything the angel says, at least it’s biblically correct now. I hope you’ll find this recording to be a blessing.

I hope you had a blessed Easter.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Posted in Angels, Dawn, Easter, Resurrection, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our King, Triumphant

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

(NOTE: Because Easter is the most important time in the Christian calendar, I’m posting this Palm Sunday song again this year. I’m enclosing a link to a recording here. Here’s a free PDF of the lead sheet.)

Come listen, friends and strangers, too;
You’ll never guess what’s happening.
That Jesus fellow’s coming into town.

You know just the one I mean;
He resurrected Lazarus.
That very man is riding up the street.

The crowds are so excited now;
They think he’s our Messiah.
Let’s go and see this new king for ourselves.

You know what the Scriptures say:
There’s nothing to be scared of.
Our king will come upon a donkey’s colt.

The cheers are getting closer now;
Let’s gather up palm branches
And praise the Lord for sending us a king.

Something tells me such a day
Will never be forgotten:
Our King Triumphant, riding into town!

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
In 1993 when I was still working at the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, I was asked if I wanted to share an Easter song at the IMB’s pre-Easter chapel service.

Since I was eager to share my music anywhere I could, I jumped at the invitation and began working on a new song. Although I recorded an accompaniment to use with it–regrettably, it wasn’t as good as the ones I’m able to record now–the song was well received. (Here’s a fairly recent recording. The lead sheet is available here.)

The song is based on John 12: 9-15…

9 Then a large crowd of the Jews learned He was there. They came not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus the one He had raised from the dead. 10 Therefore the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus also 11 because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them[a] and believing in Jesus.
12 The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One[b]—the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: 15 Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.[c

It also makes reference to Zechariah 9: 9…

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The prophet Isaiah had said, “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!”

And Jesus Himself said, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” 

Then, in raising Lazarus from the dead, He fulfilled the final sign of the long-expected Messiah.

Is it any wonder that His riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey inspired the crowds to believe He was their long-expected Messiah? Surely He would deliver them from the heavy and odious hand of Roman rule.

If we had been there in the crowd, would we have thought the same thing? Or would we have realized what we know now: that Jesus was a different kind of Messiah? He was the perfect sacrificial lamb who was going to die to forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Donkey's Colt, Easter, Jerusalem, King, Palm Branches, Palm Sunday, Triumphal Entry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the Lord’s Hands

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[Listen to this song here. A free PDF lead sheet is available here.]

If you race against men
And the running wears you out,
Then how can you compete
Against swift horses?

If you always trip and fall
On a a path that’s straight and sure,
Then how can you hope to climb
The steepest mountains?

Who can hope to weigh the mountains
With a bathroom scale?
Who can hope to measure the oceans
With a coffee cup?

There are things we can’t do;
There are things we cannot change.
But everything in this whole world
Is in God’s hands.

Everything in this whole world
Is in God’s hands.

About This Song:
During the nearly nineteen years I worked at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, I heard inspiring presentations from a number of people–fellow staff members, visiting missionaries, and special guests like Beth Moore and Ray Boltz. Today’s song was inspired by staff member Jimmy Maroney, who later went overseas as a missionary.

The words are based on two Scripture passages. The first is Jeremiah 12:5:

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”
(NIV)

That passage reminds me that humanity limits us greatly. We have high hopes that we have no chance of fulfilling.

The second is Isaiah 40:12:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
Or weighed the mountains on the scales
And the hills in a balance?
(NIV)

God’s works of creation are miraculous. How can we ever understand them? How can we even weigh or measure them using our human limitations?

My limitations aren’t terribly important, however. Not as long as the world and everything in it is truly “in the Lord’s hands.”

Note: I forget what translation of the Bible I was using at the time, but the references to “coffee cup” and “bathroom scales” are not original.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Climbing, Coffee Cup, Dependability, Dependence, Falling, Horses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jimmy Maroney, Racing, Running, Scales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Come Walk with Me

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[You may listen to this song here. The free PDF lead sheet is here.]

“Come walk  with me,” said Jesus Christ.
I stepped up to His side.
We shared our thoughts and feelings
As we went along our way.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“When the path veers out of sight,
For every step you take with me
Leads towards my Father’s feast.”

“Come fish with me,” Christ Jesus said.
I stepped into the boat.
We cast the nets on either side
And rowed across the lake.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“That the fish seem few and small,
For every fish we catch today
Will be used for a feast.”

“Come fish for men,” said Jesus Christ.
I stepped outside my door.
We offered words and deeds of love
As we moved through the crowd.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“That so few respond today.
Each person you lead to my door
Will share my Father’s feast.
Will share my Father’s feast.”

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
Jesus lived in a fishing community. No wonder many of his disciples were fishermen before He called them into His service. Or that He said He would teach them to become fishers of men.

The Bible tells several fascinating stories about Jesus’ experiences with fishing. Like the time–under Jesus’ direction–the disciples caught a fish with a coin in its mouth. Worth the exact amount they owed as the Temple tax.

And the time His disciples had been fishing all night without success. He told them to try again, but to cast their nets in the opposite direction. They made such a haul it threatened to break their nets.

Jesus calls us as Christians to be fishers of men. I don’t know about you, but I often question how good a fisherman I am.

I wrote this song to encourage myself and others that God may not intend for each of us to bring in the multitudes the way Billy Graham did for so many years. Yet each person we “catch” is important. Every individual counts.

That’s why the Bible says the angels in heaven rejoice each time an unsaved person is brought into God’s family.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Posted in Disciples, Feast, Fellowship, Fish, Fishing For Men, Walking with Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Will You Leave Behind?

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[You may listen to a recording of this song here. A free PDF of the lead sheet is available here.]

When you die, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?
Precious memories for your friends and family
Or relief that you’re no longer there?
Will the faith you’ve shared bring them comfort
Or your hopelessness cause them more grief?
When you die, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?

When you pass away, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?
Will your words continue to encourage
Or the harm they’ve engendered linger on?
Do your sermons tell of God’s Kingdom
While your actions point the other way?
When you pass away, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?

When you depart this life, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?
Will the good you’ve planted grow like flowers
Or the problems you’ve sown spread like weeds?
Is your life well invested in others
Or will your influence die at your death?
When you depart this life, you can’t take it with you,
But what will you leave behind?But what will you leave behind?

About this Song:


There are two songs I want  at my funeral–other than a few favorite hymns. One is Chi Coltrane’s “Go Like Elijah.” I doubt that Chi has no idea who I am or would have any interest in coming to sing at my funeral, even if she’s still alive at the time. So I’ll just leave a CD of the song where my wife can find it.

This song is the other one. Unfortunately I won’t be physically up to doing to it at my funeral. So I recently spent quite a while making a selfie-video of this song for use at my funeral and timing and adding the lyrics tot the bottom of the scream like closed captioning.

This song was a challenge to write. Among other things, I was hard pressed to find and fit synonyms for “die” into the song’s rhythm in the second and third stanzas. I got rid of the original fourth stanza because the song was long enough without it. However, the PDF of the lead sheet still contains the fourth stanza.

Enough about all of that. What’s the point of this song?

We’re all going to die, and each of us will leave something behind. Some people will barely be missed. The death of others may even be a relief to their survivors. How sad.

As Christians, however, we have the opportunity to leave so much more than material goods. If our lives are filled with love, kindness, consideration, generosity, and so many more Christian virtues than I can begin to list, we will continue to live in the memory of others in a good way.

But how would we feel if we knew that all we would be remembered for was hatred, nastiness, selfishness, violence, or any of an endless list of other negative, sinful characteristics?

Very few people are remembered throughout the centuries. Probably only the very finest people–and the most wicked.

Why waste the opportunity to be remembered approvingly? That’s something each of us can do with God’s help.

Your comments are always welcome.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Death, Despair, Family, Hope, Legacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Widow & the Judge

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[You may listen to an old recording of this song here. The free PDF lead sheet is available here.]

A widow came before the judge
To ask for his assistance.
That lazy rascal turned away,
Unmoved by her insistence.

refrain
You are God’s children;
He wants what’s best for you.
All you have to do is ask.
Pray without ceasing;
Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and the door will open wide.

That lady kept on coming back;
It broke down his resistance
Till he complied with her request,
Worn out by her persistence.
(refrain)

The Lord’s not like that worthless judge;
He longs to give assistance.
And He will never turn away;
He’s moved by your insistence.
(refrain)

Although you keep on coming back,
You do not meet resistance.
God never tires of listening
To your prayers of persistence.
(refrain)

About This Song:

t-Roger 10-19-2023
I used to really marvel at Jesus’s parable about the widow and the wicked judge in Luke 18:1-5:

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
(NIV)

But then Jerry Rankin, at that time the President of the International Mission Board, shared a meditation about this parable, and I saw it in a new light. The point is that God is the very opposite of the wicked judge.

Whereas the judge had no relationship with the poor widow who needed his help and finally agreed to help her because she had worn him down, God has a personal relationship with each of His children. Like any earthly father, He wants His children to have the best He has to offer.

The refrain comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:17:

Pray without ceasing.
(NIV)

and Matthew 7:7:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
(NIV)

Unlike the wicked judge, God respects our persistence. We don’t have to beg Him for His help, but we do need to ask in the right spirit–“Not my will, but Yours.”

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Assistance, Insistence, International Mission Board, Jerry Rankin, Judge, Persistence, Prayer, Widow | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nothing I Am

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[Two different versions of this song exist. You may access the one that these lyrics go with here. The 1980 handwritten version is here. Unfortunately, I never recorded either.]

If I could speak the tongues of angels and men,
But I spoke not with love, my words would be noise.
If I could preach and teach and understand all things,
But if I don’t have love, nothing I am.
Love is patient and kind, not jealous or rude;
Love is happy with the truth and forgives all wrongs and forgets.

If I had all the faith to make mountains move;
If I gave up my goods for show, not for love,
If I should sacrifice my body to be burned,
But if I don’t have love, nothing I am.
Love is eternal; love never fails.
All else is temporary, but love survives all things.

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
During the latter 1960s I heard a wonderful Sunday School lesson about 1 Corinthians 13–the “Love Chapter” of the Bible. What’s the last sermon or Bible study you still remember more than fifty years later?

Here’s the passage. . .

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)

As much as I, uh, love this passage, it’s always frustrated me. It describes perfect love. The kind I can never hope to attain completely.

No matter how much I love my wife or my daughter and her boys or my stepdaughters and stepgrandson, I can’t love them the way the apostle Paul describes in this chapter.

And maybe that’s the point.

God Himself is the living example of that kind of love. If I want to be more loving, I need to keep my eyes on Him–and to put love first in my life. No matter how well I might think I write novels and songs and take photographs and program web pages–even if I do those things in God’s name–those accomplishments are nothing compared to my ability to love others. Others including the unlovely and the unlovable.

Jesus died for people who hated Him. And for billions of people who hadn’t even been born yet. He loved them all.

I probably won’t have die for the sake of my enemies, but I can surely do a better job of loving the people my life touches.

How thankful I am that God loves me perfectly and wants me to learn to love Him–and other people–the same way.

What are your thoughts on perfect love? Please share a comment.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in 1 Corinthians 13, Faith, God's love, Hope, Love, Perfect Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment