First Love

Click above to listen to First Love (Revised) from the new album Treasures of Peace: The Stanton Lanier Collection. If you enjoy, check out the CD or MP3 Album, or visit iTunes, Amazon, or Spotify).

What comes to mind when you hear the words “First Love?”

I think these two words draw us in because we think back to a memory of love. For example, basketball was my “first love.” How would you fill in the blank? “__________” was my first love. Or, maybe we remember our first girlfriend or boyfriend as our “first love.” With this being Valentine’s week, I think about how my wife is my “first love” because we share the truest, deepest sense of this, a lifelong commitment to love and respect each other through life’s ups and downs.

When I wrote the song First Love in 2003-2004 (for the album Draw Near), I was thinking about all the meanings behind this. Yet, most of all, I was thinking about how God first loves us. I cannot earn His love. He offers it as a free gift, and grows this in me as I surrender my heart to Him. Then, last summer when I was composing a new, revised version for Treasures of Peace: The Stanton Lanier Collection, I added inspiration from Psalm 63 and the phrase “your love is better than life,” referring to God’s love for me.

As you listen to this track, you will hear the new (2014) opening and closing melodies inspired by Psalm 63, and the original (2004) middle section with verse and chorus, inspired by 1 John 4. These references are down below.

How could you apply “First Love” in a fresh way this Valentine’s Day?

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love… Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:16, 19 (NIV)

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Psalm 63:1-4 (NIV)

Click above to listen to First Love from my third album Draw Near as you read. If you enjoy, consider purchasing the song, album download, or CD from Amazon, iTunes, or stantonlanier.com (where sheet music is also available).

Is your mindset thankful for progress, or frustrated by a lack of perfection?

The tension in this question is real in my day-to-day life. If you are like me, maybe you have a “performance mentality” that wants to rear its ugly head. When this happens, I am tempted to start striving too hard, and my body language feels more like clinched fists and gritted teeth. I risk my mindset looking like something like this — strive to please others and do my best to perform for God, then maybe others will like me better and God will love me more. Going down this slippery slope leads to frustration that once again, perfection is out of reach.

This is why I wanted you to listen to First Love as you are reading this…

Several years ago a good friend spoke words into my life that began to stick. He said, “Focus on progress, not perfection.” As a “recovering perfectionist” this was huge for me. It was a mindset shift. Focusing on progress rather than perfection helps me be thankful instead of frustrated. Surrendering results and outcomes to God also increases my peace and rest.

About half of my Scripture inspired piano compositions are lyrical, meaning the piano is “singing” some words. First Love is one of these. Here is what the notes are singing: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16 is the verse melody) and “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 is the chorus melody). 1 John 4:10 offers a great summary: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

What a gift this is, to be able to receive grace and forgiveness rather than having to strive, please and perform. This is the foundation for my “Progress Over Perfection” mindset. By God’s grace, He loves me even though I am not perfect. As I make progress in surrendering to Him, seeking to listen to Him, to follow Him, He shows the way and I can trust Him with results and outcomes.

How can being thankful for progress inspire your journey today?

The Story Behind My Song “First Love”

Progress Over Perfection – What's Love Got To Do With It?