Frankie goes to Hollywood

Photo by chester wade on Unsplash

Some songs contain such a high idealism that we just have to listen in awe and be inspired. “The power of love, a force from above, cleaning my soul.”

This anthem by Frankie goes to Holywood is a fabulous reminder of the nature of love; beyond romance, beyond words, sacrificial and other centred. Reminiscent of one of the koine Greek words for love agape; this love is perfect, sacrificial and not self-serving. (In koine Greek there are separate words for romantic (eros) and brotherly love (philos).)

The love of this song is one that declares; “When the chips are down I’ll be around”. The challenge is set that whatever the fear and challenges of our loved ones, “hooded claw” or “vampires [at] your door”, we’ll walk with them and fight for them when we have a commitment to love.

But how does this feel for the one doing the loving? Frankie doesn’t let us down; “Love is danger, Love is pleasure. Love is pure-the only treasure”. To really be committed in love will have a cost. It is self-sacrificial, when we walk through dark times with our loved ones it is painful and costly for us emotionally too even if their fears are not our own. Yet, ultimately, we also gain through it. One of the beauties of love, is that when we are in a relationship where love is genuine and reciprocal, the other person will be doing the same for us. Their love for us will also be selfless, and this balance (yin and yang … thankyou Mulan which I saw last week!) means receiver and giver value one another with equality and both participants win. Love wins; it truly is the only treasure.

This leaves me with a very real challenge for the upcoming week; “Make Love your goal”. Who wants to join me in responding?