I can hear him through our walls. Malik is our neighbor who just started playing the electric guitar. His room shares a wall with JD. I respect Malik’s patience when JD was a new born and cried at 3am. Malik does not play heavy metal or something crazy loud. He plays Michael Jackson. He plays one of my favorite songs from my childhood called Human Nature. I still hear the song and think of the early 80′s on LightMix 105 in Chattanooga.
Malik plays the song often. He is about 13 so I do not think he heard the song ever performed. I suddenly realized he is playing a song that he heard July 2009 at Michael Jackson’s funeral. John Mayer performed a guitar rendition of Human Nature, the same song Malik plays. Here, I thought Malik was playing an old song, but in reality he is enjoying the new expression of the old song. In fact, a whole generation has relearned Michael Jackson’s music after his death. Those old songs have become new again for the new generation.
Just like an old song that becomes stale, we often in the Christian life hear the same old truth having a “been there, done that” attitude with it. It is still the vibrant transforming truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, but we grow weak to hear with the same life. We need a new way to hear music of the Gospel. The cliches and stories can become yesterday’s Manna. We need fresh bread from heaven. We must make the Gospel new to our cold hearts.
Our imaginations must be encountered by the cool fresh water of Jesus’ love and righteousness. Our sin festers a numbness of heart, but we seek to make the Gospel new again. A friend’s kind encouragement through a verse, a prayer prayed, a song sung, a bread eaten, a wine savored, and a verse preached are all ways the Holy Spirit makes the Gospel new again. We have not finished theology, because theology is not finished with us. There is more to write, more to preach, and more to savor. God wants his divine love to be expressed to our hearts in new ways in every suffering, every conflict, and every confessed sin. The Gospel must be made new again in our hearts every day. We are desperate for it. You could say its Human Nature.
Below is the video of John Mayer’s reinterpretation of Human Nature. .
