God put a smile on my face: Coldplay and the Love of God.

I LOVE Coldplay. Their music over the years continues time and time again to resonate deeply with me. I have a lot of respect for the way they conduct themselves as a band and once I saw them in concert I was done for.

Sadly what this lead to was me questioning if I was making the band an idol in my life. Over and over again God declares that he alone is to be worshiped above all else. The second commandment is that we shall have no other gods before Him. I worried that I was too obsessed with Coldplay. I feared listening to them too much.

I don't think that this was irrational. I am committed to loving God above all else and know that my greatest joys, peace and needs can only be satisfied in Him. I go through this same line of thinking when I start desiring cars, nice houses, reckless freedom, money, etc.

But then, as my sad little heart is reminded often, God surprised and blessed me in ways I would never have dreamed.

In May of 2012 I had the opportunity to go to the Hollywood Bowl and see Coldplay from some of the best seats in the house for free. This was a concert I did not have tickets for and did not think I would get to attend. On top of this I was able to go backstage, on stage during setup, and interview their audio engineer. I got to hang out for hours in the Coldplay friends and family room. Stocked with beer, wine, and fine food. I truly felt like I had died and gone to heavenly. I felt that I needed another body to pour joy into.

Me and two friends of mine from church got to watch the show from the mixing board and when the amazing spectacle of the concert was over the engineer turned round and handed us cold beers.

All that afternoon and evening I was deeply struck by the idea of Grace. Grace is receiving something that we don't deserve. Something we don't earn. Everything about that day was grace. It was good gift on top of good gift. And these were gifts I would never dream of asking for. Several times I would just close my eyes and thank God for getting to experience something so fun and abundant.

That's when the change came. From that day on, whenever a Coldplay song comes on, especially in public, a smile come across my face and I'm reminded that God LOVES me. I became more aware of how God communicates that love through different means, including my favorite band. I can worship Him through Coldplay. Like a sunset, a hot steak, a friend's hug, they lead me to the source of kindness and generosity.

He is the gracious Father of good gifts. I try to be grateful. Oh what dreams may come.