Hillsong UNITED - Love Is War Lyrics
Lyrics
In Your justice and Your mercy
Heaven walked the broken road
Here to fight this sinner's battle
Here to make my fall Your own
Turn my eyes to see your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder
I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son
Let your love be my companion
In the war against my pride
Long to break all vain obsession
Till You're all that I desire
Turn my eyes to see your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder
I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son
And I know Your love has won it all
You took the fall
To embrace my sorrows
I know You took the fight
You came and died but the grave was borrowed
I know You stood again
So I can stand with a life to follow
In the light of Your name
Video
Love is War Lyric Video - Hillsong UNITED
Meaning & Inspiration
Hillsong UNITED's "Love Is War," featured on their 2013 album *Zion (Deluxe Edition)*, is a powerful anthem that plunges into the profound theological battle waged by God's love for humanity. The song doesn't present a romantic notion of love, but rather a fierce, redemptive conflict where divine grace confronts human brokenness. It speaks of a Heaven that "walked the broken road," a vivid image of Christ's Incarnation and sacrifice, aligning directly with the scriptural truth found in Philippians 2:6-8, which describes Jesus, though divine, emptying himself and taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness, and humbling himself to the point of death on a cross. The core message revolves around surrender and transformation; the plea to "Turn my eyes to see your face / As all my fears surrender" echoes the psalmist's cry for divine guidance and peace, such as in Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God." This surrender isn't passive resignation but an active yielding to a power that liberates, where the "burden turns to wonder."
The central declaration, "I will fight to follow / I will fight for love," signifies a committed discipleship, a response to the audacious love demonstrated by the Son of God. This isn't a war fought with earthly weapons, but an internal and spiritual one, where the believer actively chooses to align with God's purposes. This internal struggle against pride and vain obsession, as expressed in "Let your love be my companion / In the war against my pride," is a lifelong pursuit, echoing the Apostle Paul's exhortation in Romans 12:2 to "not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The song understands that true desire is found in Him alone, aiming to be consumed by His will until He is "all that I desire." This pursuit of God as the ultimate desire is the very essence of faith, as described in Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
The powerful concluding stanza asserts the ultimate victory of God's love. Phrases like "You took the fall / To embrace my sorrows" and "You came and died but the grave was borrowed" directly reference the atonement and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the bedrock of Christian hope, the victorious battle that "Love Is War" so eloquently portrays. The fact that "the grave was borrowed" points to the temporary nature of death against the resurrection power of Christ, a truth powerfully declared in 1 Corinthians 15:55: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The triumph of the Son means that, through Him, believers can stand with a "life to follow," their existence transformed and empowered by His victory. This is not just a song; it is a theological declaration of war against sin and death, won through the unimaginable love of God, offering a profound and inspiring perspective on the transformative power of faith.