Noble Peace Prize for Bob Dylan?

No, this is not a bad joke. I realize a lot of people aren’t much for Bob Dylan. But I think the guy is brilliant. How else can someone with a garbled voice like his become one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time?

But even I was surprised to read on CNN that last month he almost won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature. He was edged out by a Chinese author named Mo Yan. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised the way Mo’s “hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary.” Heck, that sounds a lot like Dylan to me.

You probably don’t read Rolling Stone very much and neither do I. But the cover of a recent issue caught my eye. I grabbed it and discovered a fascinating interview. Much of what Dylan said was perplexing. I admit the guy might have fried a few too many neurons along the way. But I could not put the article down. . .

I can impersonate Bob Dylan. It’s a skill I’ve been honing since my years at Ohio State. So I used my “Dylan voice” to sing/read his lines in the interview. I got a big kick out of it, but my wife and kids left the room.

Anyway, I’m not necessarily recommending you read the interview. But there’s a part of it I just had to share:

Interviewer: The audience . . . really loves you.

Dylan: . . . They think they do. They love the music and the songs I play, not me.

Interviewer: Why do you say that?

Dylan: Because that’s the way people are. People say they love a lot of things, but they really don’t. It’s just a word that’s been overused. When you put your life on the line for somebody—that’s love. But you’ll never know it until you’re in the moment. When someone will die for you, that’s love . . .

I think Bob Dylan knows a lot about what love is. He also knows a lot about what love isn’t. I wish we all could discern the difference with Dylan’s razor-sharp edge. There’d be a lot less disappointment. And fewer unwanted pregnancies.

Bob Dylan—like all of us—is always searching for real love. But it’s right there in front of us all the time at the cross. It’s tangible. It’s pure. It’s dependable. It’s unending.

Jesus: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Remember who He is. Remember what He’s done. You are now in the moment to know Love.

PS Jesus deserves to win The Ultimate Nobel Peace Prize—and more! Agreed?

chris

Bob great analogy…. Ya know, I myself wouldn’t have figured Bob Dylan to come up with those comments. Sometimes those rockers from the 70′s can really surprise you with words.
- http://BobBevington.com/ Bob Bevington
  
  Check out Dylan’s album, Saved. He has definitely had his moments of clarity on the Messiah.
tom scott

Hi bob, its interesting to read his comments about love. I always end prayer with I love you Lord. But lately I’ve been pausing, even a few minutes, to get my thoughts straight in my mind about not just saying…I love you Lord, but trying to ” feel ” the power of what those over used and under felt words mean. As we’ve talked in the cellar recently I’m getting a much deeper understanding of what Jesus did for us. That’s love……can I possibly love back , how He wants us to love back equally……..
- http://BobBevington.com/ Bob Bevington
  
  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10 ESV)
Karen in Ohio

I find Bob Dylan facinating and grew up with his music. I enjoy his perspective still. As a “Christian” I find it most interesting that Bob is a Jewish believer in Yashua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). I also find it interesting that many Jewish people, including those in Israel, whom also are believers in the Messiah Yashua refuse to call themselves Christians. Bob shares his perception of Love as an overused word and I agree although the problem partially is the limited language of English. I would extend that same frustration with the label of “Christian” in that it’s also overused and drums up questionable connotations. I previously resented Christians but now having embraced the Messiah I find myself in their midst and enjoying it. I’ve learned that loving the unlovely is what Yashua did and does best. I’m still learning how to do emulate such love…mostly in the church. My message is this: Evaluate Jesus based on who He is, how He lived and how He died. He stands alone way above the rest of mankind. When you open your heart to Him and His Spirit He will receive you into his everlasting arms and will be the love of your life….if you let Him and then get to know Him through prayer and his Words. Shalom (Peace) to all…..
- http://BobBevington.com/ Bob Bevington
  
  Thanks for this insight Karen. It reminds me that Yeshua is the Lamb of God who takes away sin (John 1:29) . . . indeed, “our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7b) . . . the fulfillment of the types and symbols of Exodus and Leviticus.
JG

Thats one election that would be won by a landslide! HE has my vote without even hitting the campaign trail….