How He Loves

I know that as far as worship songs go, it doesn't matter who gets the credit, because that isn't the purpose. But still. It kinda makes me sad that so many people think that DCB wrote this song when JMM's original is so much better. Not that David Crowder's is bad by any means. You can't ruin this song. But, his is so sad sounding and it just doesn't have the same feeling as John Mark's. This version shows that even though life can suck so much sometimes, that's not the end and God's love is bigger than that and is more good than what we are going through is bad. Plus, when a song is written in circumstances like this one's, its impossible for a cover to capture the emotion in the same way. Though again, all versions of this song are good. This one is just undoubtedly the best.

John mark posted a ton of lyrics on his Myspace. The last part of this song goes,

I thought about you The day Stephen died And you met me between my breaking I know that I still love you God Despite the agony See people they want to tell me your cruel But if Stephen could sing He'd say its not true Cause your good

This song has never, ever, ever gotten old. It has so much intense, raw emotion in it. God loves us. He loves us because he loves us because he loves us because he loves us. He doesn't know how to be any different. This song makes me cry.

No matter what happens, this song reminds me every single time... God loves us.

This song was written by John Mark after his best friend died in a tragic car accident. It's about said friend (Who you hear him singing about while trying not to cry at the last part of the song) going to heaven and getting to see God for the first time. When I was fasting to seek God and I found out about John Mark, I couldn't stop listening to this song every day. The raw emotion choked me up every time. It's worship formed out of breaking - one of the most powerful forms, if not THE most powerful form of worship, and most definitely the resounding echo throughout this whole CD.

Yea this is his best(prolly because it's so inspired). My youth group sings this. I love it.

The video for this...No words to explain it...please go watch this. I believe the youth movement is beginning. I believe it's already started. WOW!!! This song...I don't even want to call it a song. It's much more than that. So much more than that...

This song is incredible. It has shaken me. I love the line "Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree," I love how God loves us. He loves us, he loves us, he loves us, he loves us. I wish more people knew this truth. I love how powerfully God strikes us with his love. I've felt it. This song captures it. Breathtaking.

Ah maaaan. This is so out of this world. It takes a different kind of faith in God to be able to praise him from the bottom of your heart and declare His love and Goodness when around you everything's crumbling and the people you love are dying. Then again the Bible says that His love is made perfect in our weakness. :)

This song is so surreal. I've heard every version just about but the original. I'm used to D.C.B and when I listened to this, it brought tears to my eyes to hear such raw emotion pouring like water from this man's soul. It's so true, God loves us. I've dealt with a friend's death and the first thing you think is "God why me? Why now?" You think about God. You blame God for all your troubles, but I know from experience that when you realize just how beautiful He is, you are flattened to earth and humbled. I remember when I realized that God really does love us I was LEVELED! It was such an amazing thing to know that he loves us as sinners and terrible people, but he loves up!

John Mark Mcmilan writes a hortatory song, “How He Loves,” right after one of his best friends has died; he gives us this amazing hope he has, that God's love isn't a pretty, clean, Hollywood love but its willing to love things that are messy and difficult. With an amazing message and an electronic rock sound like Bob Dylan and the Byrds, John writes this story of how he was amazed by God's overwhelming love. Taking us back to a more modern tone, John describes this love that is deep and challenges us to really dig into what love really is. He also makes this truth universal by saying, “oh how He loves us/ How he loves us so/ in lines 9-10. In light of knowing that he wrote this right the death of his friend to think things through, we see that John is seeking logos. He is struggling with this death and talks it out with God; this song is the result of that conversation. “How He Loves” is full of similes that help us picture this love, such as “Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,” (Line 2). Comparing us to a tree, he goes on to use the metaphor of us “Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.” (Line 3) When I examined this song, I found it to be very personal. Most of the pronouns used are either I or we, which implies that this song is about him or if you listening to it, he makes it personal for you too. John also makes it a religious song by talking about redemption by grace in lines 16-17. He is saying that we are saved by grace and how is grace is measureless like in line 17, “if His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.” John learned a lot through his experience and writing this song. When I watched a video on the story behind the song, I found that John really defines true love in this song. Its not a love like you love a cheeseburger or the sunshine or a good book. This love loves even when things are messy and difficult. Its not offended by anger or bitterness. This is God's love, and he wants to be a part of your life and loves you through the hard times when things get messy and difficult.