Anyone who has been voting in my polls may notice that How He Loves was not one of the options. In fact, three separate people requested this one under the artist “David Crowder”; However, he is not the original artist! That title belongs to John Mark Mcmillan, whose first two albums, Hope Anthology, Volume 1 (2002) and The Song Inside: The Sounds of Breaking Down (2005) saw little success. I wanted to tackle this one for my own sake, in part because I worshipped God often with this song.

After Crowder popularized How He Loves, Mcmillan saw momentum with their third album release: The Medicine (2010), peaking at #8 on Billboard’s Top Christian Album chart. Having gained a foothold in the Christian Music industry, they released Economy in 2011, Borderland in 2014 (after a successful Kickstarter campaign), and Mercury & Lightning, his first #1 spot on the same chart.

Several other artists covered Mcmillan’s hit song, including Kim Walker-Smith, Jesus Culture, The Glorious Unseen, and Flyleaf.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The main thrust of this song is that God loves us. Mcmillan wrote this song after the death of a friend due to a car accident, an unfortunate tragedy. He has my condolences. However, I have a few major issues with this song.

The lack of attributes of God and explicit mention makes it easy for anyone to substitute the word “He” for a boyfriend. That’s right, How He Loves is yet another “Jesus as my boyfriend” misstep! Mcmillan fails to explain why “He” loves us. Assuming this is about God, these lyrics have nothing on the cross or Christ crucified. This is how God shows us how much He loves. That is how deep it is. We need to shout it from the rooftops, not bury it so deep that not even Christians can find it.

Of course, those of you who have been reading my reviews know that I hate excessive repetition. So, let’s get this dreadful misdeed out of the way. I counted the phrase “how He loves us” 30 times (including derivatives). 10 would have been annoying. 30 is beyond reprehensible.

Score: 3/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Though the verses have Biblical application, there is no explanation as to how God shows that He loves us so. I also take exception with some of the content in Verse 2. We will assume that “He” refers to God and apply a 2 point penalty for the lack of clarity.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

He is jealous for me

Not envious, but jealous in the relational sense. Idolatry is spiritual cheating (see Exodus 34:14).

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

Not in terms of destruction, but a hurricane in raw power.

The bending tree imagery is bowing the knee to God, juxtaposing God’s raw force and merciful nature.

When all of a sudden

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory

And I realize just how beautiful You are and

How great Your affections are for me

God’s glory helps us forget our troubles, best summarized in Hebrews 1:1-13.

[Pre-Chorus]

Oh, how He loves us so

Oh, how He loves us

How He loves us so

How does God love us so? How does He show it? Sadly, Mcmillan doesn’t bother to tell us.

[Chorus]

Yeah, He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves

Yeah, He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves us

Whoa, how He loves

See commentary in Pre-Chorus.

[Verse 2]

So we are His portion and He is our prize

Speaking of Israel and, under the New Testament, Gentiles who are grafted in (Romans 11:17), Jacob and His descendants are God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood (Deuteronomy 14:2, Deuteronomy 32:9 and 1 Peter 2:9-10). God is the prize that we strive for (1 Corinthians 9:23-27).

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking

While God’s undeserved favor draws us, it is Christ’s shed blood that atones for our sins and makes grace possible, an unfortunate oversight in explanation (see Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss

David Crowder was right in changing this to “unforeseen kiss” in his version. This is not how we should view our Lord coming to earth, however accurate it might be to a relationship between a man and his bride (Ephesians 5:25).

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest

It becomes passionate for God.

I don’t have time to maintain these regrets

When I think about the way

See commentary in Verse 1, lines 3-7.

Score: 5/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unfortunately, the boyfriend interpretation mentioned in section 1 will probably win the day with unbelievers, unless they pay close attention to Verse 2. The word “we” in the first line makes this interpretation less likely; However, it can be hard to spot. Even harder to make the connection.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Though intending to glorify God, the aforementioned issues put a significant wet blanket over it, masking His light in a thick cloud. I don’t mean the cloud that led Israel across the wilderness either.

Score: 2/10

Closing Comments

I expect much disagreement over this review. While a beloved classic to many people, John Mark Mcmillan’s How He Loves is a major disappointment in terms of Scripture. Though it had a significant impact on believers, it communicates a “Jesus as my boyfriend” version of Christ, not as our Lord and Savior, One who is cuddly and warm instead of One who is not to be trifled with. It does find some biblical application, but only if we first assume “He” refers to God. Not that a single attribute of God is ever described. Mcmillan fails to communicate the most basic things about Jesus, putting a thick dark veil over His glory.

Final Score: 3.5/10

Artist Info

Track: How He Loves (listen to the song)

Artist: John Mark Mcmillan

Album: The Song Inside: The Sounds of Breaking Down

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2005

Duration: 4:40

Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2005 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates

01/26/2020 – Removed interrogative comment in Pre-Chorus and added a Bible verse to Verse 2 that does not affect my rating.

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