Michael Card was born in Madison, Tennessee on April 11,
1957. In 1988 he released the two disc
set THE LIFE (Sparrow). It is a trilogy
on the life of Christ, which contains almost all of the songs from Card’s
albums: KNOWN BY THE SCARS (1984), SCANDALON (1985), and THE FINAL WORD
(1987). THE LIFE was produced by Norbert
Putnam. Card shares: “This trilogy
represents a progression, perhaps you might even call it a pilgrimage, through
the Gospels...from the Incarnation to the death and Resurrection-those two most
implausible, impossible, and unthinkable events, the bookends of that
impossible life, the birth and the death of God. It is an ongoing pilgrimage, open to everyone
who has the guts and gall for it”.
Disc One begins with ‘Overture to the Trilogy’, a beautiful,
mostly instrumental piece. This is
followed by a beautiful flute based piece, ‘The Promise’ which tells of
prophecy being fulfilled: “The Promise was love and the Promise was life/The
Promise meant light to the world/Living proof Jehovah saves/For the name of the
Promise was Jesus/The Faithful One saw time was full/And the ancient pledge was
honored/So God the Son, the Incarnate One/His final Word, His own Son/Was born
in Bethlehem/But came into our hearts to live”.
‘Immanuel’ is a great Christmas themed anthem using a choir:
“A sign shall be given, a virgin will conceive a human baby bearing
undiminished deity/The glory of the nations/A light for all to see/And hope for
all who will embrace His warm reality/Immanuel, our God is with us/And if God
is with us, who could stand against us?/Our God is with us, Immanuel”. ‘Carmen Christi’ delivers these words about
Christ’s humility in choral fashion: “Who being in very nature God/Would not
grasp equality with Him/But made Himself nothing/And took up a servant’s
nature”.
‘To The Mystery’ is a light Christian rock track about the
immaculate conception: “When the Father longed to show a love He wanted us to
know/He sent His only Son and so/Became a holy embryo/That is the mystery/More
than you can see/Give up on your pondering/And fall down on your knees”. ‘The Final Word’ is a lovely easy listening
ballad about God’s plan for us: “He spoke the Incarnation and then so was born
the Son/His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one/Spoke flesh and blood
so He could bleed and make a way Divine/And so was born the baby who would die
to make it mine/And so the Light became alive and manna became Man/Eternity
stepped into time so we could understand”.
‘Spirit of the Age’ tackles abortion: “A voice is heard of
weeping and of wailing/History speaks of it on every page/Of innocent and
helpless little babies/Offerings to the spirit of the age/Now, every age had
heard it/The voice that speaks from hell/’Sacrifice your children and for you
it will be well’” . ‘Celebrate the
Child’ is a happy pop praise and worship song using sax: “Celebrate the Child
who is the Light/Now the darkness is over/No more wandering in the
night/Celebrate the Child who is the Light/First born of creation/Lamb and
Lion, God and Man/The Author of Salvation/Almighty wrapped in swaddling bands”.
‘Joseph’s Song’ is a ballad that finds Jesus’ earthly father
talking to God: “How could it be, this baby in my arms sleeping now, so
peacefully/The Son of God, the angel said/How could it be?/Lord, I know He’s
not my own/Not of my flesh, not of my bone/Still Father let this baby be/The
son of my love”. ‘Jesus Let us come to
Know You’ invites Him in: “Jesus draw us ever nearer/Hold us in Your loving
arms/Wrap us in Your gentle presence/And when the rain comes bring us home”.
‘Meditation/Baptism’ runs over five minutes. It begins as an instrumental and eventually
goes on to include lyrics: “He came gently and stepped down into the water/With
the light of the Father in His face/Son of God He had been since the
beginning/Now as Son of Man Jesus took His place/A stone that makes men
stumble/And a rock that makes them fall”.
‘Scandalon’ is a light rock number that reminds us we all must make a
decision about Christ: “To some He is a barrier, to others He’s the way/For all
should know the scandal of believing/He will be the truth that will offend them
one and all/A stone that makes men stumble/And a rock that makes them fall/Many
will be broken so that He can make them whole/And many will be crushed and lose
their own soul”.
‘What Will it Take (To Keep You From Jesus)’ speaks to those
who haven’t given their lives to Christ: “And how long before you stop with
your reasons/Take your defenses away/It’s only a lie that keeps you from
following/Don’t let it stand in your way/So many excuses and so many lies/Are
blocking the Light and the Way/But the final decision to follow the Lord can
shatter and blow them away”. Closing out
Disc One is ‘The Lamb is a Lion’, which reminds us that Jesus was not always
meek and mild: “Priests and the merchants demanded some proof/For their hearts
were hardened and blind to the Truth/But Satan’s own law is to sell and to
buy/But God’s only way is to give and to die/And the Lamb is a Lion who’s
roaring with rage/At the empty religion that’s filling their days”.
Disc Two begins with ‘The Wedding’, a pleasant easy
listening song about Jesus’ first miracle: “Lord of light, oh, come to this
wedding/Take the doubt and darkness away/Turn the water of lifeless living/To
the wine of gladness we pray/So amidst the laughter and feasting/There sits
Jesus full with the fun/He has made them wine because He is longing/For a
wedding that’s yet to come”. ‘The
Nazarene’ has a wonderful chorus: “He came, He saw, He surrendered all/So that
we might be born again/And the fact of His humanity was there for all to
see/For He was unlike any other man and yet so much like me”. ‘The Gentle Healer’ is an effective acapella
song that begins: “The Gentle Healer came into our town today/He touched blind
eyes and the darkness left to stay/But more than the blindness, He took their
sins away/The Gentle Healer came into our town today”.
Card co-wrote ‘Forgiving Eyes’ with Norbert Putnam. It’s told from the perspective of the woman
caught in adultery: “My body could feel the stones that were waiting/My judge a
man from Galilee/In His eyes so gentle I could see/A father and a brother and a
son/Just as I saw Him/The hope I had lost became born again/I was not hopeless
though I’d been lost/Now I felt I was found when He looked at me with His
forgiving eyes”. ‘God’s Own Fool’ is a
light pop track of spiritual invitation: “So come lose your life for a
carpenter’s son/For a man never died for a dream/And you’ll have the faith His
first followers had/And you’ll feel the weight of the beam”. ‘Why’ uses tambourine and reflects on Judas:
“Why did it have to be a friend who chose to betray the Lord?/Why did He use a
kiss to show them that’s not what a kiss is for?”
‘Known By the Scars’ is a strong Christian rock song about
Christ’s earthly mission: “For a time He sought to tell the world He was the
Way/That God the Father had a human heart/With His own holy hands He sought to
touch and heal their scars/But they chose to tear those gentle hands apart”. ‘Ride on to Die’ is about Jesus riding into
Jerusalem: “Midst the shouting so loud and the joy of the crowd/There is One
who is riding in silence/For He knows the ones here will be fleeing in
fear/When their shepherd is taken away”.
‘Come to the Table’ is a co-write with Niles Borop. It’s an adult contemporary song of warmth
focused on communion: “Come to the table He’s prepared for you/The bread of
forgiveness, the wine of release/Come to the table and sit down beside Him/The
Savior wants you to join in the feast”.
‘In the Garden’ reflects on Gethsemane: “Trembling with
fear, alone in the garden/Battle before the final war/Blood became tears, there
in the garden/To fall upon the silent stones/There in the darkness the Light
and the darkness stood still/Two choices, one tortured will”. ‘Traitor’s Look’ is a pop/rock song with
extremely honest lyrics: “Now, Judas don’t you come too close/I fear that I
might see/That traitor’s look upon your face might look too much like me/Cause
just like you I’ve sold the Lord and often for much less/And like a retched
traitor/I betrayed Him with a kiss”.
‘Cross of Glory’ contains these words of testimony: “Upon the cross of
glory/His death was life to me/A sacrifice of love’s most sacred mystery/And
death rejoiced to hold Him/For soon He would be free/For love must always have
the victory”.
Randy Scruggs co-wrote ‘He Was Heard’, which includes these
joyful words: “In the fullness of the promised time/The Final Priest did come
and He offered up a living sacrifice/Now we His children wait for Him/With hope
and joyful praise/For we know that God has heard Him/For we know that He was
raised.../Oh, once and all He paid the cost enduring all the shame”. These lyrics from ‘Crown Him’ make me think
of Revelation: “Crown Him! Crown Him!/Holy angels sing/All glory, honor, power,
and grace/Crown Him King of Kings!/Crown Him! Crown Him!/Those redeemed and
damned will bow with me and humbly sing/Worthy is the Lamb!” Last up is ‘Joy in the Journey’, a ballad
that offers great hope: “There is a joy in the journey/There’s a light we can
love on the way/There is a wonder and wildness to life/And freedom for those
who obey/And all those who seek it shall find it/A pardon for all who
believe/Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind”.
THE LIFE is a magnificent 29 track collection focused on the
birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ.
It is a good theological study on the Incarnation and the
Atonement. This album reinforces my
belief that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the only way
to heaven and eternal life. Musically,
THE LIFE is mainly easy listening and light pop but other genres are also
delved into. If your faith and beliefs
have been shaky lately, pop these two discs into your player and be encouraged
and strengthened! If I could give this
project over 100% I would! For more info
visit: www.michaelcard.com.