Blog Details

 

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30

As the song/worship leader at my church, I am challenged and honored to choose most of the music our congregation sings Sunday to Sunday. I often try to choose in conjunction with the Pastor’s sermons which is not always easy. Complicated themes make for complicated songs.

In this effort, I am more about the lyrics these days than a “catchy” tune. When God called me back to faith, it was a combination of Biblical scripture and theologically sound songs from my Christian upbringing that reminded me of God’s awesomeness. There are some old hymns that I find theologically questionable and I try to avoid them no matter their popularity. I find it even more so with a lot of modern “American style” hymnology and praise music that contains questionable or outright wrong theological basis. One popular modern contemporary Christian song I have avoided is called “Reckless Love”. It was a number one Contemporary Christian hit for a long time last year and I still hear it quite often on the Christian radio stations I listen to.

These lyrics and the author’s clarification regarding them still give me pause. I don’t think the artist’s intent was malicious at all, but with my newfound awe over the character and grace of God, I think these things need to be expressed for truth’s sake. Here are my issues with the song and others that state questionable attributes regarding God’s love.

A majority of the song is right on regarding God’s love as offered, but I just would never paste the word “reckless” over that description. The definition of reckless is acting “without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action”. It is somewhat an abandonment of reason as if God somehow woke up one morning and nonchalantly decided to create the world and we humans with it. He then assumably formed man with no assumption that man would obey His commandment, which was just one at the time.

The new assumption seems to be that His love is uni-directional and doesn’t demand a response. I don’t see that in the Gospel. Yes, God sent His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins past, present, and future…but that was done with the specific goal of reuniting man with his maker into a two-way relationship. It was defined and planned for thousands of years starting in Genesis 1 and it has always required a response and obedience from the will of man. Today’s version of a relationship with God seems to be bent away from any call of dedication or obedience on our part. The “American Gospel” is not necessarily the true Gospel.

When I think of “reckless love”, I compare it with having unprotected sex with a stranger or choosing a person totally wrong for you as a mate just because you are lonely. In our modern culture, it is all about a “feeling” or moment of passion that ends up having lifelong consequences. There is little objective consideration of character or meaning in such liaisons. These relations seem to be based on a whim of feeling versus a decision based on fact. I have seen this in both the human world and the spiritual. Relationships based on only feeling will only last until the feeling is gone.

I don’t see or experience that in God’s Biblical person at all. His love is precise and highly purposed with some give and take. It’s not meant to be a one-way, domineering, passionate kind of encounter.  It’s really not about feelings at all. God determined from the beginning of time what his plan was. God foreknew everything about us even before “the beginning”. This truth just blows my mind and has revolutionized my response to faith. He has chosen us and yet requires our free-will response to his call. His love is holy and just and quite demanding. There are no free rides or cheap grace in a relationship with the Holy One. Every action of His demands some form of reaction from us. He has created a “cause and effect” world and there is nothing reckless or thoughtless about it. It just seems so to us sometimes because His mind and ways are so far above ours.

It has always been clear to me from my Biblically raised childhood that God’s love came at a huge price…the suffering and death of His Son on the cross to take the place of our deserved punishment of death both physically and spiritually because of our sin. While we can never deserve that sacrificial love of God, He does have very specific requirements about attempting to do so. He does state that His love will change and control everything in our lives. If we truly plug into his saving grace, we will be agreeing to HIS terms and conditions in receiving that grace…not our own terms or conditions. There is no “conditional” response to His love on our part. We accept and believe what He has done for us, or we don’t. We live according to His terms, or we don’t.  He doesn’t relinquish any of His right to rule and control our behaviors. He doesn’t back down from His laws of cause and effect. He doesn’t change. He expects US to do the changing…and even in that, He doesn’t expect us to change on our own. He has promised us the power and desire to change through the power of His Holy Spirit…not our own works. So while His demands have high expectations, He knows we can never measure up on our own or without His help. But, this relationship starts with a fully considered, reasonable, and rational decision on our part on whom or what we will base our lives and trust.

God’s relationship with us is compared to a marriage covenant relationship in the Bible. Believers are the “Bride of Christ” and Jesus is the “groom” in this marriage of faith. He provides for us while expecting us to trust in his covering and protection for our lives. He does not promise our lives will be without pain, suffering, or challenges…but He promises to be there with us in each battle of this life while He prepares us for the final “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:6-9) which will be the final chapter of this eternal love story. The whole purpose of our lives and relationship with God is for that final wedding and reconciliation with God our Creator.  Even in our imperfection, we are to live as eternally “betrothed” to Christ because of the price he paid for our redemption that made the way for this undeserved relationship. Truly an amazing love story.

So, while the song rightly states, “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God; Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine; I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away”…there is nothing reckless about it. His love is purposeful, intentional, and in response, he wants ALL our love and commitment in return. Thus, there should be nothing reckless in our response to His love. We need to be intentional, faithful and committed to Him in return. We don’t do that out of fear or emotion, but we do it because we have DECIDED to return his love through faith and confidence in Him. After all, it is simply expected of a bride to do so. Once we have learned and accomplished all of that, we will truly experience God through Jesus Christ because we have submitted to Him. There is nothing better in life than to be totally aligned with God and to know Him in His fullness that only comes with “marriage” to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:29-32