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| Let Your Love Flow Like A Mountain Spring |
"Love one another because I loved you first" John 4:19
The Shiraito Falls is in the Karuizama-maci in the Nagano Prefecture. It is the spring head of the Yukawa River and flow like white threads rolling down the the rock face. The source of water comes from rainfall on Mount Asama and it penetrates the earth, travels underground only to surface as the Shiraito Falls an estimated six years later. It is a never ending flow of water, it seems, never drying up.
On 3 October 2018, Pat, Christine (my sister) and I went in search of Shiraito Falls. We almost could not find it as the road leading to it was not clearly signposted. Then we had to walk into a forest before we came to an opening. The scene that greeted us was quite unique, a long stretch of crystal clear water flowing down a low embankment like bridal veils. As I stood there enjoying the misty sprays of cold water a catchy refrain, 'Let your love flow like a mountain spring' came to mind. The same expression of love as flowing water is used by the Bible in the Song of Songs 4:15, when describing a lover, 'You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.'
The
Bellamy Brothers, Homer and David, released 'Let Your Love Flow' in
1976. People see this as a romantic popular song. However, the Bellamy
Brothers come from a Christian background and started off their career in Gospel music. "Gospel
was really the first thing we sang," Homer said, recalling early
performances at a nearby church growing up in Florida. Hence this song Let Your Love Flow also celebrates the Love of God, a forever fresh love that flows like the mountain spring.
There's a reason for the sun
shiny sky
And there's a reason why I'm
feelin' so high
Must be the season
When that love light shines all around us
So let that feelin' grab you
deep inside
And send you reelin' where your love
can't hide
And then go stealin'
Through the summer nights
with your lover
Just let your love flow like a mountain stream
And let your love grow with
the smallest of dreams
And let your love show
And you'll know what I mean,
it's the season
Let your love fly like a bird
on the wing
And let your love bind you to
all living things
And let your love shine
And you'll know what I mean,
that's the reason
There's a reason for the warm sweet nights
And there's a reason for the candle lights
Must be the season
When those love rites shine all around us
So let that wonder take you into space
And lay you under its loving embrace
And feel the thunder as it warms your face
You can't hold back.
This song describes the Joie d'Vivre (Joy of Living) that stems from the love of God whenever we can express it.
In the 1970s, there was a popular small
booklet written by a Walter Tobisch entitled 'Love is a Feeling to be Learned.' It is an advisory book on love and
courtship but the title, is intriguing. Love
is a feeling to be learnt? One usually thinks that love just happens, spontaneous and inexplicable; sometimes defying reason - so how could it be learnt? As we grow older, it will start to dawn on us that love is often learnt and the knowledge of how to be and stay in love anchors all lasting relationships. If romantic love is but a fleeting moment, unconditional, agape love that God gives is a never ending stream.
An advice from CS
Lewis is pertinent, “Now ‘being in love’ may be a good reason for getting married,
though, as far as I can see, it is not a
perfect one, for you can fall in love with someone most unsuitable, and even
with someone you don’t really like or trust. Being in love is not the deeper
unity that makes man and woman one. I am told (indeed I can see it by looking
around me) that ‘being in love’ doesn’t last. I don’t think it was ever intended
to. I think it’s a sort of explosion that starts the engine; it is the
pie-crust not the pie. The real thing, I understand, is something far deeper –
something you can live on. I think you can be madly in love with someone you
would be sick of after ten weeks; and I’m pretty sure you can be bound heart
and soul to someone about whom you don’t, at that moment, feel excited.”
The
thrill of being in love can be so irresistible. We act right away
on the impulse that romance, a feeling call love, is the only
important thing in marriage. However,
there is a big difference between what we call ‘being in love’ and the solid,
persistent and indeed ever-increasing sacrificial quality - not only of attraction,
but of bonding - between a man and a woman. That kind of love works on a
spiritual dimension, given and sustained by God. This is the love for husband and wife and the key to a successful marriage.
Such love, also goes for other relationships, beyond marriage, for the love we can give is underpinned by the love of God. It is this agape love that keeps the fire of these relationships warm and alive. By the giving of God's love in us, we make His unconditional love, visible.
Lionel
Ref 1: Deborah Evans Price Reuters/Billboard 21 May 2007
First Published 11 Aug 2012
