my heart will go on

I’m not a Celine Dion fan although I did once go to a concert of hers because someone had a spare, free ticket. And by virtue of tagging along I discovered the music of The Corrs, whose music I do love, so clouds, silver linings.

When our children were in primary school I did a little piano teaching. Celine’s song ‘My heart will go on’ sprang up everywhere at that time, making it a piece that a number of pupils wanted to learn to play. It was actually a great piece to teach balance between hands, with the aim of making the melody line sing against a flowing accompaniment. All too often as students wrestled with mastering notes, fingers and pedals the efforts sounded more like the deep, dark depths of the ocean that Jack Dawson sank into. But occasionally a pupil would master it well enough to perform in the end of term concert.

As the teacher teaching those who were not quite able to master it, the lessons were something of an endurance feat, and sometimes could not end soon enough. I’ve not been put off the song for life, but neither is it top of any playlists.

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2 Chronicles 7: 1-3

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. ³ When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

This morning we sang the Matt Redman song based on this passage ‘Lord let your glory fall’. And we sang it twice during the service, second time after an excellent message on Praise and Revelation. I was leading worship from the piano today, so given the time spent practising in preparation at home, warm up practice prior to the service and repeating it during the service I’d ended up singing those words quite a few times.

I’m never bored of hearing these things. It is one of the best ways in which God enables His goodness to sink into my bones, in repetition and rhythm, allowing thankfulness to diffuse into my heart and to know that His love endures.

Not endurance as in long-suffering, resignation, tolerance or sticking it out, but enduring timeless love as constantly encountering, meeting with, persisting and holding on.

Without resorting to cheesy song, He says ‘My heart will go on’ long after yours has given up, cooled off, forgotten or wandered off and I am committed to running after You, whatever.