Offer - SQOTW

If I had to list a Top Ten Favorites of Bill Mallonee, this song would be in it. No question, it's one of my favorite songs of all time by any artist. I just love the lyrics despite the cliches that abound within (which I know makes some people hate it, but not me), and the pop tempo and beat mixed with a little Americana rolls the tune right down my alley for a strike. The song's title is Offer, and it's from the Vigilantes of Love Blister Soul CD. It's also on the Live From the 40 Watt CD.

The first verse:
they were making available the dreams of the past
for a limited time while the supply lasts
i got in line and i gave the man my cash
yeah i was buying fake diamonds, buying fools gold
and i keep them in a sack shot full of holes
in this land of plenty with an empty soul

The buying fake diamonds and fools gold and keeping 'em in a sack shot full of holes... well, that just seems like what a lot of my life has been like. From childhood until the present, how many times over and over do I go through little fads of things I want that I think will make me happy? So, so many. Worse, I feel like I won't be satisfied without them. And I'm not just talking about materialistic trinkets, collectables, clothes, games, or whatnot, but I've gone through phases where politics, sports, music and good times have been my household idols as well. It's ridiculous, really, when I think about all the useless junk that I use to occupy so much of my time because I think that will make me happy or important or better or contented. The world wraps its little treasures in pretty bows and sell it to me on TV, on billboards, in movies, people talk about them at work, it's on the Net, it's everywhere, and I grab for it all and let it slip like sand through my fingers because it only lasts a short, short time. Woe to me until I can see what's real.

The next verse starts the turnaround:

from parting shots to parting the seas
from stabs in the back to turning the cheek
opening cells and throwing away the key

Here, we go from where I was to Biblical proclamations. Instead of returning evil for evil, there's a cheek to be turned. And the freedom found only in Christ. The chorus rings out with the grace of God and states that there is nothing that is too much for Him to overcome. Nothing He's made, and nothing inside you.

no mountain too high, there's no ocean too deep
no castle too strong, there's no lock that'll keep
no river too wide, there's no desert too broad
no stone you can't break, no heart that's too hard

The climax of the song is the beautiful last verse that expresses just who Jesus is so well and his "offer".

you're the judge and you're the law
the criminal in place of us all
father and mother sister and brother and friend
you say give me your sickness give me your pain
your empty cup and i'll fill it again
why on earth are you digging your own grave?

I think I'll take it.

Bill Mallonee