This is part two of an interview I had with with the frontman of The TechnoFunkBoy recently about their debut, Driver’s Seat. Part 1 can be read here and Part 2 here. In this part, we will discuss track 3 of the album, “Cross.”
The whole album can be downloaded for free here or streamed online here. Please do take a listen. Kaenor and the band were very careful to not only make the music good, but that the lyrics and music would glorify God.
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Me: Let’s talk
about Anla. Do we have an official
announcement yet?
Kae: Yes, we can
announce it officially. Anlaharima and I
are engaged.
Me: ’Bout time.
Kae: Well, I wanted
to get this album wrapped up before we made it official just because everything
would get distracted otherwise, and we wouldn’t be able to attend to either the
album or the engagement properly. But now
it’s done, and on to more important things!
Sometimes you need to get the lesser things out of the way so they don’t
ruin the greater things. That’s not
always good advice, or even most of the time, but we needed to finish this
album up lest we get caught up in it and wreck everything else.
Me: Indeed. I’m bringing her up as we look at “Cross”
because this really is her song.
Kae: Yes. Most of the time what she is doing in TFB is
adding to the texture of the song. She’s
not always going to stand out, but you’re going to notice when she’s not
there. “Cross” is a bit different. This is the only song on the album where
she’s playing bass in addition to guitar, so you’re going to hear her right
away, and then she gets a chance at the guitar too.
Me: You two
actually share the soloing duties.
 |
| Anlaharima |
Kae: In the middle
of the song yes. We go back and
forth. She starts and finishes the
cycle, but I’m the one in the left speaker, if you’re listening in stereo. I think that’s correct. Anyway, she plays first, then I play. How about that? Then she does the entire final solo herself. When we play the song live, I do all the
guitar parts so she can keep going on bass.
Me: What’s the song
about?
Kae: I wanted to
take the theology of “Almighty” and apply it a little more into people’s
lives. This is the first attempt at
doing that. Basically, I’m taking it a
lot from God’s speech at the end of Job.
You’re remember that Job was
demanding answers the entire book about why this was happening, but when
God comes to answer him, God doesn’t actually say why it is happening. Instead, God points to His own power and
eternal nature as the only answer needed.
I’m trying to take the same approach, but with the added advantage that
we have even more proof of God’s goodness than Job did, because we have the
cross. I don’t know why particular bad
things happen to certain people. I
cannot tell you what caused this particular tragedy to happen. But I do have proof that God is good, and
that God loves us.
Me: The cross.
Kae: Exactly. There’s your answer. That’s the best answer we can give on any
number of questions. Are you worried
that God does not love you? Look to the
cross. Are you worried that God cannot
make good things out of bad ones? The
cross. Are you concerned that God will
not forgive you? Look there. Are you wondering if you are even saved? Look to the Cross. Does that mean something to you? Do you see that moment in awe and wonder at
His love and sacrifice? Do you recognize
your salvation there? If so, rest in
that. That is how much God loves His
children, and how much He is willing to give for them.
Me: And how should
that be a comfort to us?
Kae: “He who did not
spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him
graciously give us all things?” See, the
greatest comfort we can have is in the nature of God Himself. That is what is being said in Job – we do not
have the answers, but God does. So the
question becomes this – are we in Christ?
If we are, then we are promised all things. The Heidelberg Catechism just nails this from
the very beginning, in question 1.
Me: “What is your only
comfort in life and in death?”
Kae: Right. Let me look this up so I get the wording
right. “That I am not my own, but belong
— body and soul, in life and in death — to my faithful Savior, Jesus
Christ. He has fully paid for all my
sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the
devil. He also watches over me in such a
way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in
heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy
Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and
ready from now on to live for him.”
Me: So, to
summarize here, our hope is in Christ.
Kae: Exactly. That is our only comfort in life and in
death.
Me: So, great, but
the theme of this album is the sovereignty of God. So why is this song on here? Why is this one not on an album about Jesus’
sacrifice or grief or whatever.
Kae: Because the
sovereignty of God is why this is a comfort.
The sovereignty of God is why we can have hope. It was by God’s plan and purpose that put
Jesus on the Cross, that brought about the very Incarnation, and it His plan
and purpose that will bring His people home.
Read through John 6. Jesus tells
us that God has given Him a specific people, and that He will save that people
and not lose a single one of them. A lot
of people complain that election makes people fear for their souls. They begin to wonder whether or not they are
elect. Well, that does happen, but it is
not because of the doctrine itself. This
doctrine is actually comforting. Are you
one of His? If so, you have been given
to Christ, and He will not fail to keep you.
If this is all my doing, well, I am a fickle man, and I’m much more
prone to lose myself than I am to seek salvation. But it is God who did this, not me, and I can
trust God, in all seasons of life, to watch over me, to “me in such a way that
not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father.” This comfort flows out of the sovereignty of
God. Without the doctrine, your comfort
is on shaky ground, but a better understanding of God’s nature should steady
you.
Me: What would you
say to those who are questioning their own salvation?
Kae: Well, first of
all, asking the question is not necessarily a bad thing, though we can become
overwrought with the question. We are
called to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Also, the very fact that you are wondering
about it is a good thing. But if you
struggle with assurance, seek that assurance in prayer and at the cross. If you have repented and placed your faith in
Christ, then you are one of His, and that is how much He loves His own. Also, seek guidance from the elders of your
church. Go to them with your fears and
thoughts. They are charged with your spiritual
well-being, and they would be remiss in their duties if they turned you away.
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We will continue this interview next week with a discussion of "Valley." Until then, please consider downloading this album or listening to it online.
