Love Him More started as just some scribbled words on the back of a Sunday bulletin while sitting in church, at least 10-20 years ago. The image of leaving the chaos at the church door for just a little while was appealing. Now it is even more so. The words also capture the collective nature of worship and music-making. I set the words to music in 2020. It was one of my “COVID projects.
Love Him More
From out of the chaos we enter,
Pausing on this sabboth morn.
Kneeling, standing, praying,
And singing Alleluia.
We are not just one, two, three, or four.
We’re coming together as one
to worship and to praise –
and learn to love Him more.
Although I am often really busy at church, singing, playing harp or other instruments, and assisting with some other behind-the-scenes tasks on Sunday mornings I remain aware that the collective experience of praise and worship is the primary focus. I’m not deluding myself that I can shut myself away from the craziness and angst of our society. But, I can pause for a while to re-fuel, re-focus, and re-affirm my faith.
I wrote Love Him More as an introit for the choir – a symbolic start to the worship service on a Sunday morning. But it was also written as a not-so-subtle reminder to those of us that are engaged in creating a worship experience that we also need to pause and remember why we are here. This past Sunday I noticed that one of the people that I was expecting to play in the benediction response didn’t leave his seat in the congregation. When I asked why he told me that he was just caught up in the experience of worship and forgot to come play. What a wonderful testament to the worship experience. We are coming together to worship and to praise and to learn to love Him more.