now, love is not a feeling in your chest
it is bending down to wash another's feet
it is faithful when the sun is in the west
and in the east...

for the love of god - music and lyrics by andrew peterson

almost ten years have passed since i last saw andrew peterson. sunday night's concert shows that his songwriting has only become better with age.

i began filling in the missing slots of my ap catalog when paul suggested the concert mini roadtrip, and i somehow failed to notice this song on the first spin through the far country. but the second or third time through, the beginning of the third verse finally caught my attention and my breath.

love is so often regarded as a feeling; a flutter. is that a part of love? surely it is. but it becomes more. the flutter grows into a force, and at some point you find the dirty work of servanthood offered willingly, freely. harder still is receiving such service. with grace and effort and time, the force can turn into a fire burning bright and hot and dangerously deep. it can bring radiant warmth and searing pain; it can wound but also heal.

love is not reserved for wedding vows. love is lived and learned throughout our lives regardless of marital status. love is different than we think. there are no experts on love. we love and we fail and then we love again, continuously, faithfully, as best we know how. we love and we are hurt and we wonder if it is even worth it to carry on, if it is even possible. and then we love again, continuously, faithfully, as best we know how.

as andrew began another rambling-yet-lovable song introduction, he revealed that the friend for whom he had originally written this song was at the concert. i assumed that i was attributing my own emotions to andrew as he started the third verse, merely imagining a teary eye and hushed lyrics to what was clearly stage lighting and musical dynamics. but as his voice cracked through the lines, you could hear that these words rang true and deep for andrew as well. music as worship and art and God and beauty and majesty. love is faithful.