The Phantom of the Opera

I gave you my music
Made your song take wing
And now, how you've repaid me
Denied me, and betrayed me...

I hadn't watched the musical before, so I went into The Phantom of the Opera knowing only that Gerard Butler is arguably the most handsome man on the planet, and little else. (A cultural idiot, if you will.)

But I enjoyed it, despite the ratings from most local film critics. The one scene that made me sob like a baby was the one after Christine and Raoul sang "All I Ask of You," professing their love for each other, with the Phantom lurking in the background. When they had gone, the Phantom appeared and sang his betrayal with pain enough to grip anyone's heart.

And I wonder if this is how God feels, each time someone turns away from Him, rejects Him, betrays Him; a zillion times over, every single day. What kind of pain must that be? To have made us in His image -- put His song into our hearts -- only to have us turn our backs on Him. And what kind of love must it have took, for Him to still want to send His only Son to die for us?

The Phantom learned later what God already knew -- that love cannot be forced, that any genuine love must be of free will. God gave us the freedom -- the choice -- to love Him. It's the only kind of love that He will ever accept.

But in the process, He also gave us the choice to deny and betray Him; He set Himself up to be denied and betrayed. That is what love is, and that is the only love God knows.