The Christian Metal group Whitecross was formed in 1985 in Waukegan, Ilinois. Whitecross won three Dove Awards as well as the Christian Metal Band of the year in the 1990’s. While I bought several Whitecross albums in college, In the Kingdom is by far my favorite. While I usually feature a worship song on Sunday’s, I made an exception today with Holy War.
And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly, Acts 4:29.
Holy War combines rap with metal to highlight the ongoing spiritual war that is taking place is another dimension. The rap portion of this song sounds like Rocky Balboa minus the south Philly accent. Meanwhile, the lyrics of the chorus calls Christians to become bold and passionate followers of Jesus. When you put everything together, Holy War remains an inspirational song to enjoy today.
Within every culture, there are clichés that exist. As a former high school athlete and coach, playing with all your heart was often stressed. Perhaps, this saying comes from a fictional character, Rocky Balboa, an overweight, out of shape boxer who is given a once in a life time chance of facing the heavy weight champion on Independence Day. What Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, lacked in raw talent was compensated by a heart that refused to quit. I guess you can say this is Hollywood’s depiction of with all your heart.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart,” 1 Samuel 16:7.
I recently watch a documentary on director Stanley Kubrick. Entitled Filmworker, Leon Vitali spent decades serving as Kubrick’s punching bag, absorbing and learning from the criticism dished out by Stanley. According to this film, during production Kubrick worked 18-20 hours daily, rarely sleeping. As a perfectionist, tiny little details that few directors consider kept Kubrick on edge. The more I watched, I began to understand what it means to do something with all your heart. While Stanley Kubrick was difficult to work for and with, his request to his production crew and cast remained the same, give everything you have and more.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” Matthew 22:37.
Jesus asked first century followers for the same commitment level. To meet, reach and surpass this standard takes passion. When you feel like you have been born to do something, excitement comes naturally. However, as human nature pulls your attention into other direction, focusing on a task is extremely difficult. Perhaps, this inspired the apostle Paul to write “I beat my body and make it my slave,” 1 Corinthians 9:26. When human hearts grow cold, lose interest or become comfortably numb, maintaining spiritual disciplines in your daily is crucial. For those who are able to weather the storms in life, you may reach a point when you can honestly say, I have given all of my heart.
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