Jesus Rocks!

I was de-virginized last Friday night! Gotcha! I was only trying to say that it was my FIRST TIME in a Christian rock concert, and you know what… it really rocked!

I never imagined that I would ever utter those words in my lifetime but I just did and I am not taking it back. Last Friday, my friend who works at the Araneta Center marketing office was able to snag me some last minute tickets to the Sonicflood concert. My husband wanted to go so a week earlier I already asked her if she had any complimentary tickets she could throw away. I wasn’t exactly THAT thrilled to go but I was somehow INTERESTED to see how a Christian rock concert looks like. I practically had no inkling. Not a tad bit. We didn’t hear from my friend until about 3 hours before the concert. She called up to say that we could pick up our tickets at the Gateway Concierge. Although I was excited to tell my husband, I also felt a bit ambivalent because I didn’t know what to expect. But I know God wanted me to watch this concert so off we went.

Working for MTV for several years gave me the opportunity to watch some of the biggest rock concerts here and abroad. I’ve seen how an actual mosh pit looks like in a Metallica and Linkin Park back-to-back concert in Staples Center, LA. I’ve been backstage with Gwen Stefani and the whole No Doubt band in one of their major Singapore gigs. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing countless rock stars (both international and local) in my MTV job. I loved rock music and I was totally living a rock and roll lifestyle until I came to know Christ.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 “…If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Part of the Denying-Thy-Self process is the painful letting go of my music preferences. Oh it was so hard for me because I thought that now that I have become a Christian I will already be compelled and convicted to consume only “Christian” music, which I thought at that time was purely ballads, hymns, and those “church” songs. Hey don’t get me wrong. I also love a good ballad, and the church songs are written well, but there are days when you just want to rock it out. I want face-melting guitar riffs. I want heart-pounding drumbeats. I want roof-raising synth solos. I want music that I can dance and jump to.

I really had a crisis there for some time because while I still wanted to listen to the “music” of the secular rock songs that I like, listening to it would mean that I have to listen to its lyrics too. But of course, listening to non-Christian lyrics would totally undermine my commitment to be Christ-like in lifestyle. It was just a tricky situation. And I only made it through God’s wisdom and discernment. By Grace, I was able to mature in my walk with God and my worldly affinity for the useless kind of rock music just slowly faded. It’s really not all about me, and it’s not all about this world.

So anyway, going back to my first Christian rock concert… I was pleasantly surprised to see true-blue rock musicians, who could very well just play secular songs and earn millions from it, play Christian rock music instead. I got everything I ordered – guitar riffs, mega drumbeats, synth solos, etc. Nothing in their musicality can be tagged as corny. They were really rockers. They were really rock musicians. I may not be THE expert in rock music but I’ve seen, heard and even tasted enough ROCK in my life to know that these guys on stage were indeed rocking out in the real sense of the word. The music was undeniably awesome. These melodies could have been made into Top 40 pop songs but their chart-topping fate was really meant for the Lord’s countdown.

What was even amazing about is that this time around I was not screaming my lungs out for some dopehead on stage. While Sonicflood performed really well and deserved every roll of those thunderous claps, the band also recognizes that the cheers weren’t just for them. They were just decoys, if you may. They were just instruments. The real rock star on stage was Jesus!

Music after all is a gift from God but while God created everything, not everything can remain in Him without holding onto Him. Sin has destroyed the beautiful things that God created. Sin has cut our ties with the Lord. Music has been won over by the enemy since time immemorial. I am glad that “rock” music can be redeemed this way.

What a joy to be singing my heart out for my maker, my savior, my “idol”… I am now a certified groupie; God’s number one fan!