The following video tells the story behind the song, How He Loves by John Mark McMillan. In anticipation of John's new CD release, the clip has been posted recently on some blogs and Facebook. The song is very popular in worship settings. It has been covered by David Crowder, Hillsong United, Flyleaf, and others. John says this about the song's redemptive message:
"The love that I am singing about in that song is not a pretty, clean, Hollywood, hot-pink love. It is the kind of love that is willing to love things that are messy, difficult, and gross... in my anger, resentment and frustration, he could still love me through that... he wasn't offend that I was angry at God. This song isn't a celebration of weakness and anger. It's a celebration of a God who would want to hang with us through those things, who would want to be a part of our lives through those things and despite who we are, he would want to be a part of us and be a part of our community and be a part of our family."
How He Loves : A Song Story from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.
In the second video below, filmed at a Passion gathering, McMillan explains with great emotion how the song was never intended as a worship song, but as a fulfillment of a movement - he wrote it following the death of a dear friend who, during a church staff meeting, prayed out loud, "If it would shake the youth of a nation, I will give my life today." Later that night, his friend was killed in a car crash. John wrote "How He Loves" the next morning. John later became a youth leader himself in part to see his friend's prayer fulfilled.
The evidence of the song's anointing is apparent in reading numerous comments posted on various blogs, YouTube, etc., as it has touched many, many people with similar stories. One blogger, Tammy Hodge shares her gripping testimony about the song's impact on her life. The following excerpt is from Lindsey Nobles' excellent blog, I'm Just Saying:
1987, 16 1/2 years old, i sat in an abortion clinic in southern california. alone and frightened. i didn’t show it. i couldn’t show it. i wouldn’t show it.
i no longer lived at home with my family. i had to be the big girl now. i had do the right thing. i had to look out for me. at all costs.
fifteen months later…i sat in the very same abortion clinic waiting to rid my life of one more mistake.
how could God love me after ending two innocent lives? why would He?
i never thought then of the repercussions my decisions would have. not once did i consider the impact those abortions would have on my life or the lives of others.
and it certainly never occurred to me then that i would one day have to tell my own daughter.
when i look at my daughter, kassidi, i don’t just see my first born…i see my first chosen born. i see grace. i see redemption. i see mercy. i see Love.
kass knows about my abortions now. she has ministered to many girls in her high school because of what she now knows of the subject. this is God using my ashes to demonstrate His beauty and love.
Gods love has allowed kass to experience life. her life has allowed me to know Love.
i was 16 when i had my first abortion. my first born is now 16. and she sings today because He loves us... Oh, how He loves us...
Below is her daughter singing How He Loves
How He Loves - Kassidi from Brent Hodge on Vimeo.
He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath
The weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these
Afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize how beautiful you are
And how great your afflictions for me
Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so
Yea He loves us
Oh how
We are his portion
And he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart burns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
He loves us
Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so
Yea He loves us
Oh how
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
HT to Matthew Gregory Burns and Lindsey Nobles
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