Enthralled by God's Love

Have you ever been in a situation where you know something is wrong but did not do anything about it? One Sunday at worship service while singing the song "When I look into His holiness", the Holy Spirit convicted me.

"When I look into His holiness" is a song of worship with serious meaning, and it is often sung with a mistake in the lyrics, which I discovered some years back. Sometimes I would point out to a few students in the Christian fellowships when they make the mistake in their "praise and worship" time. However when they don't make the correction, I never did anything else. Most other times I just sang the correct version on my own.

The mistake is in the line "When my will becomes enthralled in Your Love" where "enthralled" is frequently but wrongly substituted with "enthroned".

My will becoming enthroned in God's love means my will is exalted by God's love, that God's love revolves around me, and therefore, I am more important. On the other hand, my will becoming enthralled means I am captivated by and submitted to God's Love, which is the correct meaning in the context of the song.

I wonder how the original writers feel if they know their song has been changed and, sometimes, massacred. There are many instances where lyrics and melodies of songs have been unintentionally taught wrongly and intentionally modified without acknowledging its writers and their original works. It is time we seriously consider our responsibility in handling the intellectual/creative property of others.

I wonder how we can sing the wrong lyrics (of the song discussed) so many times without suspecting that something is amiss. I confess that there are times that I sing without thinking, but my worship will be meaningless if that is all I ever do. We need to be more mindful when we sing in worship of what the song means and whether we mean what we sing.

I wonder how many of you are like me, knowing the error but not doing anything substantial. Here is what I learnt from this incident about doing something to right a wrong.

I need to work hard, researching for concrete facts (in other cases, to find evidence) to back up what I claim.

I need to communicate it appropriately (choosing the right words and approach) through the right channel (who can/will make the change)

I risk rejection or unpleasant repercussions

I am compelled to act (against the easier path of not rocking the boat) as I am enthralled by God's Love.

Evelyn Meng is a former Fellowship of Evangelical Students staffworker who is now on sabbatical. (2003)

Graduates' Christian Fellowship
20 B Jalan SS 21/35
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: 03-77272962 Fax: 03-77267250
http://www.gcfmy.org