LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING
Songs entertain and teach—some for a season, and some seem to settle into the memory of humanity itself. Love Is a Many Splendored Thing belongs to that second kind. It came from the 1955 motion picture of the same name, a film based upon the story of Han Suyin, and its music carried the tenderness of another age.
The song was written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, and when audiences first heard it, it seemed to drift into the heart like evening light through an open window. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Beauty has a way of lingering long after the moment itself has passed.
The melody itself was sweeping and elegant, shaped by the orchestral richness that marked the golden years of Hollywood. The Four Aces recorded the most famous version, and it rose swiftly to the top of the charts. Yet the song did not endure merely because of musical skill. It endured because it spoke of longing, devotion, sacrifice, and wonder. Human beings hunger for love because they were created by the God who is love (1 John 4:8; Genesis 1:27). Even the old love songs sometimes stumble upon truths greater than their writers fully understood.
The phrase “many splendored thing” was itself unusual. Love was described not as a single emotion but as something vast and layered, containing joy and sorrow together. That is true even in the Scriptures. Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and the years “seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her” (Genesis 29:20). Yet the same Bible that celebrates love also speaks of its griefs, its endurance, and its cost. “Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it” (Song of Solomon 8:7). Real love is never shallow sentiment alone.
One of the memorable lines in the song declares that two lovers kissed and the world stood still. Poetry often speaks this way because love has a peculiar power over human perception. A joyful heart can make ordinary days seem radiant. Proverbs says that “a merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22), and there is truth in that beyond romance alone. Love changes the atmosphere around a person. A home filled with gentleness and patience becomes richer than a palace filled with bitterness (Proverbs 15:17).
The song itself was tied to a story of love crossing cultural boundaries in Hong Kong after the war. That, too, carries a quiet reminder of the deeper truths found in the gospel. Christ “has made both one” and tears down walls that divide humanity (Ephesians 2:14). Earthly love often struggles against barriers of fear, prejudice, distance, and suffering. Yet the highest form of love is seen not merely in romance but in the sacrificial heart of Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for others (John 15:13; Romans 5:8). Every beautiful affection in this world is only a faint candle beside that blazing sun.
Old songs endure because they awaken memory. A melody can carry a man backward fifty years in a single moment. He remembers a dance hall, a first date, a radio playing softly in another room, or the voice of someone long gone from the earth. That’s human. The Lord Himself often tied memory to sacred things. Israel was commanded repeatedly to remember the goodness of God and not forget His mercies (Deuteronomy 8:2; Psalm 103:2-4). Memory can either become a prison of regret or a sanctuary of gratitude.
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing remains beloved because it touched something universal. It understood that love is beautiful precisely because it is fragile, costly, and precious. The song spoke softly in an age that often knew how to speak softly.
In a noisy world filled with cynicism, there is still something refreshing about music that honors tenderness rather than mocking it. “Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14). Humanity continues searching for what only the love of God can finally satisfy.
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Father in heaven, thank You for every good and beautiful gift that reflects Your kindness. Thank You for love that comforts the weary heart, strengthens the weak, and reminds us that we were not created to live alone. Help us to love with purity, patience, gentleness, and truth. Teach us to see in every earthly affection a reflection of the greater love revealed through Christ. May our hearts never grow cold or cynical, but remain tender before You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
BDD
