Why is our Hallelujah empty and cold to the world?
You may wonder why I am putting a secular song on my blog. I do it because it can help us better understand people who may not profess Christ. The lyrics of this song, Hallelujah, get inside of the heart and mind of one who is not interested in our faith. They explain how they view the church and believers. The way we come across is often cold and judgmental.
The second verse could be a raw conversation between a non-believer and one who claims to be a Christian.
You say I took the name in vain, I don't
even know the name.
But if I did, well what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word;
It doesn't matter which you've heard,
the holy or the broken hallelujah.
He is saying that the hallelujah coming from the non-believer is a broken hallelujah but it still is a hallelujah to God. The Christian thinks his hallelujah is a holy hallelujah, but the non-believer is saying that both the broken and the holy are a hallelujah to God.
When you hear his words in the last verse of the song you will hear his true heart:
I did my best, it wasn't much.
Couldn't feel so I tried to touch.
I told the truth, I didn't come to fool you.
And even though it all went wrong,
I stand before the Lord of song with nothing
on my tongue but Hallelujah.
He is admitting that even though he tried to do his best he told the truth. He is not trying to be something that he's not. He confesses that everything went wrong. But when he stands before the Lord of song he will have nothing on his tongue but Hallelujah.
Help us, Lord of the song, to embody grace to those who don't have fellowship with you through Jesus Christ. May we be slow to judge and quick to give mercy. When we stand before you may the word on our tongue be Hallelujah, thank you for being merciful.