"Ain't No Man" The Avett Brothers

“If you’re looking for truth, I’m proof, you’ll find it there.”

With apologies to the Avett Brothers if I’m reading things into their song that they didn’t intend, I think their latest song is a perfect anthem to have on repeat this year.

The basic theme of the song matches quite well with my understanding of the Christian faith. We should not look to the world for our well-being. No person is going to solve the problems we see around us. No person should be able to make us see ourselves in a light other than the truth. We tend to be sheep, looking for someone to save us. And, of course for the Christian, we have found the answer in Christ. So we should certainly not react to politics and the cultural climate around us the way many of us are.

It isn’t what we get from the world; it is what we give. Christ’s love should be everything we are. We have love to show. We have what the crazy, messed-up world needs. We aren’t looking for someone to be an answer, we have the answer: love.

The proof we have to offer is our changed lives. Not perfection. Not holier-than-thou pharisaical religion. We have been forgiven and loved, we now rest in the confidence that there is nothing that can shake us out of God’s hand. Bad things will happen. We will make mistakes. But our guiding principle is grace. We see others the way God sees us.

Our lives can be proof of the change that God makes if we will let them be. If we have been forgiven, we need to see others in that light. We need to be proof of the love of God that changes us. Don’t be one of those “everything is terrible and you are all going to hell” sorts of “Christians.” Be proof.

There official video for the song can be found here.