P.S. I Love You

Sitting in the beautiful symphony hall I found myself being lulled, almost to sleep, by the music. A great tune by a smooth vocalist has the power to do that to me. Because of this I was doing my best to focus on the lyrics of the song being performed. Many times lyrics when they can be understood paint vivid pictures, tell great stories, and stir an array of emotions.

The song being sung was written in 1934 by Gordon Jenkins. It's lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer and go something like this:

Dear, I thought I'd drop a line.
The weather's cool. The folks are fine.
I'm in bed each night at nine.
P.S. I love you.

Yesterday we had some rain,
but all in all I can't complain.
Was it dusty on the train?
P.S. I love you.

Write to the Browns just as soon as you're able.
They came around to call.
I burned a hole in the dining room table.
And let me see, I guess that's all.

Nothin' else for me to say,
and so I'll close. Oh, by the way,
everybody's thinkin' of you.
P.S. I love you.

There are several more verses but I am sure you get the picture.

My mind began to ponder why someone would write such a song. There is no way for me to know the original intent of the composer but here are my two cents thoughts regarding what came to me as I listened.

The song reminded me of many some of my prayers. I was taken back in my thoughts to those self-centered moments when instead of having a dialogue with God a monologue takes place instead. I am talking about the times when I give Him a "quick update" (as if He does not already know) and seal it with a P.S. I love you amen much like an exclamation point on the end of a sentence.

Then I started feeling guilty thinking about all of the times that I have run come before God and rambled off a list of needs a mile long without taking the time to actually consider Him. In those moment I have not been thoughtful, reverent, thankful, or worshipful. Instead I have been thoughtless, irreverant, ungrateful, and demanding.

Essentially, the longer I listened, the more I found myself being convicited relating to this song with regards to my spiritual life as a whole. Life moves pretty fast at times and I find it impossible hard at times to keep up. When push comes to shove something has to give. Lately listening and reading tweets and blogs to people talk about God seems to have taken precedence to spending quality time in fellowship with God. Of course, after hearing this song, that is going to change.

Quality time with God consists of reading His Word, meditating on it, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to me, and spending time in meaningful prayer. Prayer like Paul the Apostle talked about in Philippians 4:6 which says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

The result of those kinds of prayers will be living a life comparable to Philippians 4:7-8: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Living that kind of life will lead to obeying these words in Philippians 4:9: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice." The outcome of such living (found in the end of this verse) is: "and the God of peace will be with you."

Needless to say the song did not put me to sleep but rather shook gently stirred me from my spiritual slumber. It is easy to get lulled into a spiritual "lala land" due to preoccupation with life. When we do we don't take the time to discover what the Author of the Bible desires as part of a relationship with us personally. We tend instead to get it from someone else in a quick and often half true loop-sided fashion.

One thing I am quite certain is true is that selfish one-sided prayers will never lead to a meaningful relationship with God. They will not lead to profitable thoughts, or peaceful lives. How can I be so sure? I have tried it. I have found that God gave everything for us and deserves all of us in return. That involves so much more than a "P.S. I love you."