I meant it all, in every part.
In every word, right from the start.
I'll never let this love fall in the middle.
'Cause you know you broke the hardest part,
you know you broke the hardest heart.
I'll never let this love fall in the middle.
Through it all...
I was really struck by a word picture tucked into one of Mat Kearny's songs on the album, Nothing Left to Lose. This might be obvious to everyone else, but the meaning behind the song, In the Middle, dawned on me the other day. I had been trying to decipher the message behind it for a few days, but finally I realized the chorus referred to Matthew 14: 22-32. The second line in the chorus, talks about walking on water, One foot on the water to face these fears. In chapter 14, Jesus calls Peter to walk on water.
The disciples set sail while Jesus stays on the shore to pray. Later that night, the twelve spot a shadowy figure. “It is a ghost," some of the men cry. They cower in fear, but they hear a familiar voice. “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Peter is bracing his back against the boat. He wants it to be his Lord, but somewhere inside he does not believe it really is. He cries to the figure, testing it, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Jesus calls him and Peter stands and puts his feet over the side. Shakily, he puts a foot onto the lake. The shifting waters hold his weight. He puts his other foot down and lets go of the boat. He steps, steps again. He walks closer and closer toward the Savior. Halfway, a gust of wind pushes him backward and suddenly, Peter doubts. In an instant, he falls into the surging waves. Peter falls in the middle. He is drowning between his old security and salvation.
Imagine being Peter, struggling as the icy water wraps its fingers around him, dragging him under. Was that an apparition calling him to his death? Will he be saved? He is helpless. By doubting, he lost the only thing holding above the waves. But, in the midst of his fight, he remembers to believe, “Lord, save me.” Immediately, a hand reaches through the raging waves, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
In the song, Kearney compares his life to that walk. He talks about his childhood, growing up, his career and his life now. He continually faces the uncertain while being sheltered by one who "keeps him from a fallen world." Being a Christian is removing yourself from the world's safety and giving your life to a prize you can't hold or see until death. It is embracing uncertainty, it is walking on water. We abandon the boat of this world and harden our will against the waves of doubt. In the boat, we may feel secure, but one day it will sink and we will sink with it. But on the water, the only thing holding you up is faith. When Kearney says, “I will never let this love fall in the middle,” he means, “Lord, I don’t want to doubt.”
The truth is that in our own strength, we will all stop believing. I stop everyday. But when I start sinking, I can cry out to a God who immediately grabs hold of me. He won’t leave me alone on the water. In him, I can’t fall.
I said, “I’m gonna be alright,
gonna be alright with you by my side.
I said “I’m gonna be alright,
gonna be alright with you through this fight.
Through it all…
No parachutes or safety nets here,
One foot on the water to face these fears,
I said, “Hey, I won’t fall.”
Now, before I stop, I know that my interpretation of this song may be wrong. But Mat Kearney is a Christian songwriter and his lyrics make sense in the context of Matthew 14. I am not saying this is definitely the meaning, but whether it was Kearney’s intent or not, Matthew 14 draws a powerful analogy that has helped me walk in faith and, maybe, this song refers to it.
In every word, right from the start.
I'll never let this love fall in the middle.
'Cause you know you broke the hardest part,
you know you broke the hardest heart.
I'll never let this love fall in the middle.
Through it all...
I was really struck by a word picture tucked into one of Mat Kearny's songs on the album, Nothing Left to Lose. This might be obvious to everyone else, but the meaning behind the song, In the Middle, dawned on me the other day. I had been trying to decipher the message behind it for a few days, but finally I realized the chorus referred to Matthew 14: 22-32. The second line in the chorus, talks about walking on water, One foot on the water to face these fears. In chapter 14, Jesus calls Peter to walk on water.
The disciples set sail while Jesus stays on the shore to pray. Later that night, the twelve spot a shadowy figure. “It is a ghost," some of the men cry. They cower in fear, but they hear a familiar voice. “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Peter is bracing his back against the boat. He wants it to be his Lord, but somewhere inside he does not believe it really is. He cries to the figure, testing it, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Jesus calls him and Peter stands and puts his feet over the side. Shakily, he puts a foot onto the lake. The shifting waters hold his weight. He puts his other foot down and lets go of the boat. He steps, steps again. He walks closer and closer toward the Savior. Halfway, a gust of wind pushes him backward and suddenly, Peter doubts. In an instant, he falls into the surging waves. Peter falls in the middle. He is drowning between his old security and salvation.
Imagine being Peter, struggling as the icy water wraps its fingers around him, dragging him under. Was that an apparition calling him to his death? Will he be saved? He is helpless. By doubting, he lost the only thing holding above the waves. But, in the midst of his fight, he remembers to believe, “Lord, save me.” Immediately, a hand reaches through the raging waves, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
In the song, Kearney compares his life to that walk. He talks about his childhood, growing up, his career and his life now. He continually faces the uncertain while being sheltered by one who "keeps him from a fallen world." Being a Christian is removing yourself from the world's safety and giving your life to a prize you can't hold or see until death. It is embracing uncertainty, it is walking on water. We abandon the boat of this world and harden our will against the waves of doubt. In the boat, we may feel secure, but one day it will sink and we will sink with it. But on the water, the only thing holding you up is faith. When Kearney says, “I will never let this love fall in the middle,” he means, “Lord, I don’t want to doubt.”
The truth is that in our own strength, we will all stop believing. I stop everyday. But when I start sinking, I can cry out to a God who immediately grabs hold of me. He won’t leave me alone on the water. In him, I can’t fall.
I said, “I’m gonna be alright,
gonna be alright with you by my side.
I said “I’m gonna be alright,
gonna be alright with you through this fight.
Through it all…
No parachutes or safety nets here,
One foot on the water to face these fears,
I said, “Hey, I won’t fall.”
Now, before I stop, I know that my interpretation of this song may be wrong. But Mat Kearney is a Christian songwriter and his lyrics make sense in the context of Matthew 14. I am not saying this is definitely the meaning, but whether it was Kearney’s intent or not, Matthew 14 draws a powerful analogy that has helped me walk in faith and, maybe, this song refers to it.
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