4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
If the album has a heart, this is the chamber it beats in. Everything before it named a wound - the wounds I gave as a zealot, the wounds the noise gave me, the door at twenty-six. A man carrying that many wounds has every reason to get careful, to guard the gate, to make people prove themselves before he will call them brother. This song refuses that reason.
The question it sits with by the campfire is real: the people I meet on gospel ground, are they true heirs? Sometimes I cannot tell. The word brother means something - it is reserved for the elect, and I am not pretending otherwise. But here is the choice the song makes when it cannot be sure: if I'm gonna err, let it be love. Both directions are an error. You can wrongly embrace a wanderer, or you can wrongly freeze out a true heir. The song weighs the two and says one is far worse: a loveless guard at the gospel gate is the greater wound to bear.
That is the line I would want read at my funeral. After all the noise, all the gatekeeping, all the years of getting it wrong, this is where I landed, and I do not expect to move off it. I would rather be wrong with my arms open than right with them crossed. If I am going to err, and I will, let it be love.
Lyrics
[Hook]
Let it be love...
On this trail to the kingdom above.
Let it be love...
[Verse 1]
I sit and wonder by the campfire light,
A question that weighs heavy on my mind,
For those I meet on gospel ground,
Are they true heirs, of the same kind?
[Verse 2]
The Lord puts friends and foes in our way,
As we walk towards the kingdom above,
We recognize our friends as fellow heirs,
On our journey in His eternal love.
[Chorus]
On this long dust road, we ride side by side,
Some sure in their faith, some barely holdin’ the line.
But I won’t turn cold, I won’t tighten my glove-
If I’m gonna err, let it be love.
Yeah, if I’m gonna err, let it be love.
[Spoken Verse 3]
We love them and affectionately call them “brother” and “sister,”
Symbolic of our acceptance, not to be taken lightly,
These names are reserved for God’s chosen elect,
Children of God, who have passed from darkness to light.
[Spoken Verse 4]
But what about those we’re not sure of,
Do we embrace them as brethren too?
What about those who know the gospel,
But struggle to express it, true?
[Spoken Verse 5]
An old preacher had a saying,
“If I don’t get you in Christ, I’ll get you in Adam,”
Meaning, affectionately referring to someone as brother,
Cannot be wrong, if in kindness, we extend.
[Spoken Verse 6]
So if I am to err, let it be on the side of love,
Embracing those who confess Christ and His truth,
Showing interest in the gospel,
Not nitpicking, or examining their faith with a fine-tooth.
[Chorus]
On this long dust road, we ride side by side,
Some sure in their faith, some barely holdin’ the line.
But I won’t turn cold, I won’t tighten my glove-
If I’m gonna err, let it be love.
Yeah, if I’m gonna err, let it be love.
[Spoken Verse 7]
A loveless guard at the gospel gate
Is the greater wound to bear,
More tragic than embracing a wanderer
Whose faith we only half can share.
[Spoken Verse 8]
Let us love and embrace,
With open hearts and open arms,
For in this, the Holy Spirit,
Will guide us, [slow, higher, emotional delivery] and keep us from harm.
[Hook]
Let it be love...
On this trail to the kingdom above.
Let it be love...
[Chorus x2]
On this long dust road, we ride side by side,
Some sure in their faith, some barely holdin’ the line.
But I won’t turn cold, I won’t tighten my glove-
If I’m gonna err, let it be love.
Yeah, if I’m gonna err, let it be love.
Commentary