Does anyone else have songs that totally put them back in time to a place and a feeling? I know have quite a few. One of them was played the other night by the original artist Third Day when I went to their concert. The song is "King of Glory", hence the title of the post.
I first heard the song by a member of the Praise Team at my church what must have been like 10 years ago. We were very new to Church, and specifically First United Methodist Church in Lewisville. We attended the 9:45 service which is Praise Contemporary music. I was glad as a teenager that it wasn't the usual boring hymns. The songs had a certain transparency and relevance to someone like myself that was very young in my journey of faith, yet they had modern sounding instrumentals full of rocked out guitars and loud drums and keyboards.
Jim Cruz was the bass player for the Praise Team at the time. I am by no means a musical genius, but I kinda feel like the bass players really hold it down for most groups yet don't generally get the recognition like the lead vocalist. I never remember even seeing Jim have a microphone, except for the time he sang "King of Glory." Maybe it is my general regard for bass players, but I always thought Jim was real cool. The song is basically alot of wondering and questioning who is this King of Glory? Which at the time, was the exact question I was dealing with. What I knew of God was spelled out during our holiday visits to churches on Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day. Add in the occasional visit to a friend's church for a lock-in and it was a very base level understanding of God.
The song's lyrics led me to question who God was and how He loved me? A search that continues today, through my current life where I am responding to a call to serve His church. A search that I walked away from for a period of time, choosing to indulge in the pleasures of this world, chase dollars, feelings, and positions of prestige. My experiences has added to depth to my search. I seek not to understand exactly who God is with my mind and to try and understand why He did what He did. Instead I have allowed the search to enter my heart, where I long for His grace and love.
Many years ago when Jim Cruz sang that song I never knew that it would become a sentimental song that will touch my heart for years to come. Jim has since moved to Nevada I believe. It's amazing the ways we can touch people's lives if we open up to God and allow Him to use us. I don't know if I will ever get a chance to talk to Jim again. I do know God offers the same opportunities to me, to be used for His glory. What an amazing life He offers to us.
