#200 - "How Great is the Love" by Meredith Andrews & Paul Baloche
NRT's Kevin Davis marks the incredible milestone of his 200th Behind the Song devotional by chatting with the two powerhouse worship leaders about their collaborated song.
Meredith Andrews, a worship leader since high school, currently serves at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. She is passionate about God's grace, love and hope for the broken, demonstrated in both her music and her work with orphans in India and Guatemala.
Meredith’s current GMA Dove Award-nominated worship album As Long As It Takes is the result of a two-year wait since the release that launched the hits “You Invite Me In”, “You’re Not Alone” and “New Song We Sing.” She was accurately described as one of Billboard Magazine’s “Faces to Watch” in 2008.
For me, Meredith brings sincerity and relatable themes that get deeper with each listen. My favorite albums are the ones that continue to provide new revelations over time by savoring them and The Invitation paved the way for that experience. As Long As It Takes is in that same mold, and is fitting as the title track is based on Meredith’s experiencing the pressure of songwriting.
Paul Baloche is one of the most acclaimed worship artists and songwriters of our time. The winner of two Dove Awards, he has penned radio hits such as “Because of Your Love”, “Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)”, “All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises” and “Our God Saves” and he has written top-ranking CCLI songs and modern-day classics including “Above All”, “Open the Eyes of My Heart”, “Offering” and “Your Name.” Integrity Music is honored to present Glorious, a collection of songs that reflect his heart, and his passion for the Church.
One of my favorite songs on As Long As It Takes and Glorious is the GMA Dove Award-nominated worship song, “How Great Is The Love,” which Meredith and Paul wrote together. Recently I got the unique opportunity to interview Meredith and Paul together about the meaning behind the song.
Paul and Meredith, please describe the background in co-writing the song "How Great Is The Love,” and what's the main message of the song to each of you personally?
Paul: When I met Meredith, I offered that if she and her husband, Jacob, were ever passing through my town of Lindale Texas--which was pretty unlikely because it’s pretty remote--to give us a call and stop by the house. A month later, Meredith actually called and they hung out with me and my wife and spent the night. Normally in a co-writing situation, each person brings some ideas, but it was pretty unique in that the session was mostly relational. Jacob starting playing piano, and Meredith and I sat down and started to pray to stir up our hearts before God. Meredith started to pray, “Lord, thank You for the way that You made us, and thank You for the way that You love us.” I didn’t want to be un-spiritual, but I had to open my eyes and quickly write down those words. It felt like the beginning of a song. I co-write a lot and maybe 1 in 50 times does this type of moment happen. It just feels like the by-product of an honest prayer. Words, melody and the rest of the prayer and the song just came together at that point. The best worship songs come from that type of honest moment.
Meredith: That’s the story in a nutshell. It’s funny how the Lord works and how He’s sovereign in every detail. I'm just honored that I got to write a song with Paul because I've learned so much from him. He poured into us and fed us. I just loved to hang out with him and his wife. It was just the neatest experience and songwriting came really natural. We were in his living room and started praying and it just came out of that prayer. It was a really sweet day and a sweet moment.
Paul, what Bible verses did you use to write the song, especially in the lyrics: “We have been ransomed, We've been rescued, We've been purchased, With the price of Your own life, Thank You for the way, That You love us”?
The song is based on Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The second verse, “The weight of the cross, The curse of our shame, You carried it all, And rose from the grave,” was our way of bringing in the theology that defines God’s love. God demonstrated His great love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners. After singing we’ve been ransomed, we’ve been rescued, we’ve been purchased, it leads to the natural worship response, thank You for the way that You love us.
Meredith, how can listeners apply that message in their prayer and worship time with God, especially from your perspective as a new mother? Please expand on the Biblical Truth “behind the song.”
The song title is based on 1 John 3:1-3: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
Everyone has told me that as a mother you learn to love a little bit fuller and I can honestly say that is so true for me with my son, Maverick. Being a mom is the most natural love I’ve ever experienced. Whether he’s screaming his head off or I’m changing his diaper or he’s smiling at me, it doesn’t change my love for him. I think of that in relation to God’s love for us. A lot of times we think we need to earn God’s love, for whatever reason we think we have to measure up and be good enough and perform. In reality, God loves us because we are His. Being a new mom, the Lord has really shown me the truth that we are children of God and God loves us because we are His.
Meredith and Paul, please expand on how this song fits relative to this quote from Paul about writing and singing worship songs? “It’s an excuse and a reason to force my heart to go deeper, to reach down and say, ‘What do I believe now? What’s going on in my heart for real?’ I don’t want to just say words and phrases. So when I sing it, I believe it.”
Meredith: The older I get and the more my flesh gets in the way, I need to remember to be led by the Spirit. One of my mottoes comes from the worship leader at my church, Andy: “Love the people more than the music.” Loving people, investing in them, and knowing God and learning to love people the way God loves people is the most challenging aspect of being a worship leader. One of my prayers is to be grounded in God’s Word, and be faithful to Him. I want to be led by the Holy Spirit in everything I do.
Paul: Someone visited with me last and asked me about my life’s message. I answered with two words that came to my mind, worship pastor. We’ve been at my home church for 20 years and I try to make it back every Sunday to lead worship. I love these people. I remember when some of these people were born, when they were dedicated, got married, and funerals. The pressures don’t get any easier. One side has to gratefully deal with the demands of recording and delivering new music to people. At the end of the day, that’s not what really matters. What matters is my relationship with God and my relationships with people. That ties back in with this song. From a worship pastor’s viewpoint, what’s going to happen when someone sings this song to God? Is this giving them a biblically accurate view of who God is? All I can say is walk softly alongside the Lord and allow Him to move your heart.
Thank You for the way
That You love us
How You love us
Thank You for the way
You have made us
We were created
For Your pleasure
For Your presence
For the glory of Your name
Thank You for the way
That You love us
Jesus
Faithful King
Lord with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross
The curse of our shame
You carried it all
And rose from the grave
Thank You for the grace
That has saved us
You forgave us
Thank You for the way
You have freed us
We have been ransomed
We've been rescued
We've been purchased
With the price of Your own life
Thank You for the way
That You love us
Here’s Matthew Henry’s commentary on Romans 5:8: “Christ died for sinners; not only such as were useless, but such as were guilty and hateful; such that their everlasting destruction would be to the glory of God's justice. Christ died to save us, not in our sins, but from our sins; and we were yet sinners when he died for us. Was it not the undergoing this suffering, that the person intended to be benefitted might be released there from? But from what are believers in Christ released by His death? Not from bodily death; for that they all do and must endure. The evil, from which the deliverance could be affected only in this astonishing manner, must be more dreadful than natural death.”
I have been blessed with this "behind the song" ministry, which started on March 10, 2008. I am a long time fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and I credit the biblical message of Christian music for leading to my own personal salvation in Christ. As a result, I am passionate about bringing out the biblical messages in today's Christian music. I have had the amazing opportunity to feature 200 songs from speaking with artists in today's Christian music market who exemplify what Christian music is supposed to be about: Jesus Christ. I am so honored to feature this great song, “How Great Is The Love,” as my 200th “behind the song” devotional.
It's my prayer that these devotionals will encourage readers and be an influence to people's individual walks with Christ, or maybe to even lead people to Christ if they haven't yet made the decision.
Here's what I wrote in my first "behind the song" devotional about "Nothing Compares" by Third Day: "One of my daily devotionals in trying to grow in my walk with Jesus is to sing to Him at least one praise song every day. I'll continue this series with some more examples of the songs that have helped me grow in my faith and become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus." That's still my prayer and I consider it a privilege to share the biblical truth "behind the song" to readers weekly. I felt called to start this ministry based on my life verse, Isaiah 6:8: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" To God be all the Glory! Amen.
Here's a video of Paul teaching how to play this song:
Kevin Davis is a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. Kevin also writes reviews for ChristianMusicReview.org.
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