It’s the season of love, and music is one popular avenue to express the variety of experiences, thoughts, and emotions people have when it comes to love.
“What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me; don’t hurt me, no more.”
Haddaway’s song became popular through the comedy sketches of Saturday Night Live, but the lyrics pose a serious question that many people long to know. Abuse, addiction, and codependency taint what people understand to be love. For some, love is only known in a way that is connected with harm.
At TPOM, our desire is that people feel loved for who and whose they are, not defined by what they have done, and not used for transactional reasons. We want them to know that God is love, God loves them unconditionally, and Jesus’ words and actions demonstrate that love.
“What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a second-hand emotion?”
Tina Turner famously asks these cynical questions and dismisses the importance of love because of fear of being heartbroken, but for TPOM, love has everything to do with why we do what we do. Love is the driving factor in our efforts to help people connect with God, family, and community. We care for people who are young and impacted by incarceration, people who are currently inside prison or jail, and people going through reentry.
As we read in 1 John 4, we love because God first loved us, and God’s perfect love drives out fear.
“O love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.”
Hymns might not come to the top of mind when thinking about love songs, but they describe the greatest love ever known. The lyrics to “O Love that Will Not Let Me Go” capture the love God demonstrates and the love we want individuals to know. People impacted by incarceration have endured a lot, and their souls have reason to be weary. However, we hope that they can rest in the love of God and that through that rest and with encouragement from TPOM staff and volunteers, they can live lives that they can live lives that may richer, fuller be.
Food for thought…
