A few days ago on my run, I switched things up a little bit, adding my ipod to the run. I usually enjoy running in silence, but this time I enjoyed listening to random songs. The first two songs really hit me, though, and I pondered them as I ran.

Love is the Answer by England Dan and John Ford Coley.

Real Love by The Doobie Brothers.

I remember loving these two song way, way back in my childhood, almost being drawn to them. How interesting. Both deal with unconditional love, with a love that draws and forgives and lasts. Even then, before I knew God, I reached for Him in my songs.

Running through my neighborhood, I told myself not to cry. So affected was I by the songs, by the fact that God wooed me even then, that I marveled at God’s surprising, relentless ways.

I longed for supernatural love even then.

And several years later, by the sovereign grace of God, His wooing became complete. I wept under an evergreen tree, begging God for Real Love. Knowing, really knowing that, finally, my heart filled up with what it longed for.

Real love, God’s perfect love, is the Answer. And I’ve been reveling in that Answer for twenty-seven years.