Old Love - New Hope

Old Love - Unplugged
One of my favorite Eric Clapton songs is "Old Love" off his UNPLUGGED cd. It's a blues/jazz sorta song about trying to get over an... old love. I don't really know what it's trying to say lyrically, but the music is what I like.

So do you have any 'old loves' in your life? I kinda dated a lot of girls before I started dating my wife. Drinda Staples is the one that I couldn’t get over. And, you know, I don’t know if it was so much that I was in love with her as it was that she dumped me.

And how much of life is like that? How much time and energy do we put into trying to rekindle or recapture or hold onto something or someone… and it may not even be because of love, but just because we’re afraid of how it will look, or make us feel, or whatever. And so we ‘hold on’… and how much do we miss out on?

What if the Levites were too afraid to step into the Jordan? What if the Israelites were afraid to go through the parted waters? What if Peter had never gotten out of the boat? What if Jesus had never risen from the grave?

Ah, but we talk about those occasions... because they DID. They left their ‘old loves’ behind. And what did God have in store… even better things. New hope.

Does God only create one love?
What if there isn't just "one" love. What if love is something God can create any number of times? What if "love" itself is a creation, and it's something WE can create over and over? I have known several people who lost the love of their life, only to find another. I myself have felt the sting of being dumped, only to find a better love.

God didn't just create everything and go back into the sky. God C-R-E-A-T-E-S. He MAKES things new. But we have to put the old to death. Isn't that what Easter is all about. He didn't just make Christ new, He had to die first. He had to be put away. And a new Love was born. Baptism is creating new life from death. Old love can’t hold us down anymore than the grave.

If there is an 'old love' you're holding onto... let it die. And let God put a new song in your heart. Love itself never fails. Quit looking in the grave for something to come back. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

ADDED LATER: In case you are wondering, I am NOT saying that it is okay to 'fall in love' with someone else while you are married. But if you're trying to get over an old fling, broken relationship, even an addiction, or loss of your favorite pair of tennis shoes... move on. Okay? Does that make sense? Just wanted to clarify. :)

Peace, friends. A Revolution is at hand. Join. Smile. Don't just keep the faith... GRAB it!