{"id":734,"date":"2015-08-26T20:20:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T01:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=734"},"modified":"2015-08-26T20:20:25","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T01:20:25","slug":"shining-bright-in-gods-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/","title":{"rendered":"“Shining Bright” in God’s Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Eternally and Everlastingly Loving and Caring<\/em><\/p>\n

There are many times that the songs I may happen to hear will cause me to frown. So much of popular music today is comprised of lyrics that are questionable (at the absolute best) in their morality and message. Yet, sometimes, a song will come along that strikes a deep chord in me. Such is the case with Echosmith’s song, “Bright”:<\/p>\n

I think the Universe is on my side<\/em>
\n Heaven and Earth have finally aligned<\/em>
\n Days are good, and that’s the way it should be<\/em><\/p>\n

You sprinkle stardust on my pillowcase<\/em>
\n It’s like a moonbeam brushed across my face<\/em>
\n Nights are good, and that’s the way it should be<\/em><\/p>\n

And I see colors in a different way<\/em>
\n You make what doesn’t matter fade to gray<\/em>
\n Life is good, and that’s the way it should be<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also really like the chorus:<\/p>\n

Did you see that shooting star tonight?<\/em>
\n Were you dazzled by the same constellation?<\/em>
\n Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?<\/em>
\n I think you and the moon and Neptune got it right, ‘cuz now I’m shining bright<\/em>
\n So Bright. Bright, so bright.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, the song’s narrator feels this way because she is in love. In fact, she says to her lover: “I get lost in your eyes.” When I hear this song, however, I think of my “shining bright” in the love of God.<\/p>\n

When one is enveloped by the warm, soothing love of God, it is only natural that she feels “the Universe is on [her] side,” and “Heaven and Earth have finally aligned.” When one is embraced by His love, it is only natural that he feels that both “days…nights are good.” It is only natural that one sees “colors in a different way” because God indeed makes “what doesn’t matter fade to gray.” When one is in the bright light of God’s love, life is good indeed, and “that’s the way it should be.”<\/p>\n

In fact, when I hear that chorus, I see myself saying some of those exact words to the Beloved Himself: “Did You and Jupiter conspire to get me? I think You and the moon and Neptune got it right, ‘cuz now I’m shining bright.<\/em>” I say this because: when I see “that shooting star tonight,” or that “constellation,” or Jupiter, “the moon and Neptune,” I can’t help but be dazzled by the beauty of God and His creation.<\/p>\n

Everything in this Universe is but a reflection of His Beauty, His Glory, His Majesty. And so I can see myself asking God if He indeed used the beauty of Jupiter, and the moon, and Neptune to ensnare and engulf me more in His Love. For when I am rendered breathless by the creation of The Beloved, I am only further wanting to immerse myself in His Love.<\/p>\n

And once I am blessed by His Love, I indeed shine “bright, so bright.”<\/p>\n

Every time I hear this song, I feel so comforted because it makes me think of the Love of God and how beautiful it is. And how blessed I am to be living and breathing in it. And when I hear the last words of the song, “And I get lost in your eyes,” I make this prayer:<\/p>\n

Lord, Beautiful Lord. Please let me get lost in the beauty of Your eyes and Face in the Hereafter!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Amen, my Beautiful, Beloved Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Eternally and Everlastingly Loving and Caring There are many times that the songs I may happen to hear will cause me to frown. So much of popular music today is comprised of lyrics that are questionable (at the absolute best) in their morality and message. Yet, sometimes, a song…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[643,642,9,37,293,644,463],"class_list":["post-734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-in-popular-culture","tag-bright","tag-echosmith","tag-god","tag-love","tag-reflection","tag-shine","tag-song"],"yoast_head":"\n"Shining Bright" in God's Love<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The song, "Bright," by Echosmith reminds me of how brightly I shine in the beauty and warmth of God's Love.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Shining Bright" in God's Love\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The song, "Bright," by Echosmith reminds me of how brightly I shine in the beauty and warmth of God's Love.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Word, Common Lord\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-27T01:20:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hesham A. Hassaballa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GodFaithPen\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Shining Bright\" in God's Love","description":"The song, \"Bright,\" by Echosmith reminds me of how brightly I shine in the beauty and warmth of God's Love.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Shining Bright\" in God's Love","og_description":"The song, \"Bright,\" by Echosmith reminds me of how brightly I shine in the beauty and warmth of God's Love.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/","og_site_name":"Common Word, Common Lord","article_published_time":"2015-08-27T01:20:25+00:00","author":"Hesham A. Hassaballa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GodFaithPen","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/","name":"\"Shining Bright\" in God's Love","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-27T01:20:25+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-27T01:20:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/#\/schema\/person\/c2d50a46198edad19abb055001c4cd21"},"description":"The song, \"Bright,\" by Echosmith reminds me of how brightly I shine in the beauty and warmth of God's Love.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/shining-bright-in-gods-love\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Shining Bright” in God’s Love"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/","name":"Common Word, Common Lord","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Hesham Hassaballa","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/#\/schema\/person\/c2d50a46198edad19abb055001c4cd21","name":"Hesham A. Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. Hassaballa Charitable Foundation and now serves as its Treasurer.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/GodFaithPen"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/author\/hhassaballa\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":735,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions\/735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}