Our world is complicated and complex. And if we are not careful, we will over think situations and solutions that we need for our ministries and organizations. Sometimes simple is best. But in this complex world of technology, simple isn’t usually our first thought. Maybe it ought to be.

Many of us have sung the simple chorus, “O How He Loves You and Me,” by the late Christian composer, pianist and conductor Kurt Kaiser. I had the honor of getting to know Kurt through the years. On an occasion I drove the 90 miles south of my home to his home in Waco, Texas. We sat in his office/studio and he told me how that simple song came about.

Kurt was wanting a little chorus for a project he was working on. As will happen with artist and creative people, his mind was blank. Nothing would come. Looking around in his piano bench he came across a little piece of paper with some words on it he had written sometime before. Just a few words. Discarded when written…but found in this moment of creative need.

Kurt set the piece of paper on the music rack of his piano and began to look for a melody that would fit those few simple words. What he arrived at was a sweet, simple chorus that resonated with people because of its simple truth.

O how He loves you and me,
O how He loves you and me,
He gave His life, what more could He give?
O how He loves you, o how He loves me,
O how He loves you and me.

In Kurt’s words:

“In 1975, I sat down to think about that phrase and the whole song quickly came to me. I could not have spent more than 10 or 15 minutes writing the whole of it. That’s how rapidly it all came, the lyrics and the melody together. I sent it off to secure a copyright. I could not believe what came back in the mail.”

To his surprise, Kurt received a letter back from that office saying, “Mr. Kaiser, thank you for submitting your song for copyright. I’m sorry to inform you there is not enough original material for us to be able to legally protect it with a copyright.” The song was simply too simple.

Kurt, being the creative man that he was, quickly penned a second verse to the chorus, never intending it to be sung, only to secure that important copyright.

Jesus to Calv’ry did go,

His love for sinners to show.

What He did there brought hope from despair.

O how He loves you; O how He loves me;

O how He loves you and me!

That day in Kurt Kaiser’s studio/office he played that simple song. Even as I write these words, I get tears at the simple truth…the profound truth…of God’s amazing love for me and for you. Powerful.

For God so loved the world that He gave… John 3:16 KJV

Interestingly, during that visit, Kurt put on a tape of that song. Kurt Kaiser was a great improvisor, and he had taken the simple melody of that simple song and had woven it into an almost 10-minute piano piece as intricate as any classical piece by Debussy. The simple had taken on new life.

A few years later our Christian radio station had a special concert with a large symphony orchestra. Kurt was in the audience, and we had arranged a surprise. We called him up on stage at the symphony hall, he sat at the grand piano, and before thousands in that great concert hall, Kurt played that extended version of his simple chorus. Several times in the piece he would nod to the audience and they would begin to voice those simple words, softly…reverently…thoughtfully.

O how He loves you and me,
O how He loves you and me,
He gave His life, what more could He give?
O how He loves you, o how He loves me,
O how He loves you and me.

I will never forget that moment. The simple had become profound. Tears fell from many eyes. Professional musicians sat up in surprise. God was honored and His Truth was lifted in praise.

Sometimes…sometimes…the simple idea is the right idea.

And as a gentle reminder, it is not our idea that is important. It is the power of the Lord Jesus that is crucial.

He gave His life…what more could he give?