The original purpose of this blog was to write about all 75 U2 concerts I have been to over the last 20 years, and since I have done that and U2 are not currently touring, I had to find something else to write about on this blog. I have recently gotten back into going to church. In addition to attending worship services, I am also attending Sunday School and Bible Study. In addition I am involved with the church’s Women’s Group and helping lead the Youth Group. I am back on my spiritual journey, so I thought why not combine my spiritual journey with my musical journey. I am going to explore U2’s lyrics in relation to theology. This is not a new concept, in fact many have already written about it. But this will be the first time I am really going to delve into U2 and religion. What I am writing isn’t necessarily the right answer, but rather my interpretation of U2’s music as it pertains to my spiritual journey. Being On the Road with U2 has led me back on my path to my spiritual journey.

It is all about the journey, not the destination. No song portrays that sentiment more than my favorite song I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. It was the song that got me into U2, and 25 years later I still have not found what I am looking for. But I love being on the journey – the quest for what truly makes me happy. U2 refer to I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For as a gospel song, and I agree. The first verse may suggest that success doesn’t mean fulfillment – “I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields only to be with you. I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls only to be with you. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” In the second verse the lyric “I have spoke with the tongue of angels” may have been taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1, which says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Similarly this says that knowledge doesn’t mean happiness – even if you have all the right answers, without love you have nothing. The third verse may suggest that in your head you believe in God, but you are yearning to know God in your heart – “I believe in the Kingdom Come…You carried the cross of my shame…you know I believe it. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you.
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
Only to be with you.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one.
But yes, I’m still running.
You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but I am enjoying the journey!