Reckless Love
I'm sure many of us are familiar with Cory Asbury's song, Reckless Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xx0d3R2LoU). It plays on the radio and in churches for worship. As I'm sure it is with many of you, it's currently one of my favorite songs. Lyrically, it's stunning and powerful, and musically it's beautiful. But, is God's love reckless? Though I didn't read any of them, I was aware of circulating articles addressing this subject. Without thinking too much into it, I knew I disagreed with it but mostly because of how much I like the song. I brushed it aside but God's been bringing me back to that so, hence this incredibly belated blog post.
First off, what does the word reckless mean? Dictionary.com defines it as this: utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless. This doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? God is known as the all-wise creator, the one with the plan not just for us but for everyone and everything. He isn't careless. But that's what the song says. However, to the human eye, I think God has the appearance of recklessness.
It chases me down,
Fights 'till I'm found,
Leaves the ninety-nine.
Jesus was counter-culture. We see that every time he encounter the Pharisees and Sadducees, they chide him for being spiritual rather than religious. To them, he was reckless in a negative sense, he was an enemy. It made no sense for a shepherd to leave 99 sheep in order to find one. That didn't stop him though. Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, opened his arms to children, sat down with the tax collectors.
When I was your foe, still your love fought for me,
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me.
Jesus was God's one and only son. In that culture, the men were the superiors, sons were the ones to carry on the father's legacy and yet, God sent the only one he had to die for sinners and unbelievers. His son was sent to live a perfect live among imperfect people only to die on a cross after being mocked and beaten. Why? Because he loved us that much.
No shadow you won't light up, mountain you won't climb up, coming after me.
No wall you won't kick down, lie you tear down, coming after me.
No one is perfect. Romans 3:23 says, "You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail." And yet, God gave us a second chance through Noah and another one through the crucifixion. So, yes, in every sense of the word, God's love appears reckless. As a species, we're messy and we make so many mistakes. We kill each other, lie, betray, hurt, and we don't actually deserve all the love bestowed on us. Still it's there, reckless as it seems, and not only that, it's overwhelming. Isn't that such a beautiful thing?
We don't deserve it but it is freely and recklessly given. No matter where you run or what you do, remember that you're loved no matter how far you go.
First off, what does the word reckless mean? Dictionary.com defines it as this: utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless. This doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? God is known as the all-wise creator, the one with the plan not just for us but for everyone and everything. He isn't careless. But that's what the song says. However, to the human eye, I think God has the appearance of recklessness.
It chases me down,
Fights 'till I'm found,
Leaves the ninety-nine.
Jesus was counter-culture. We see that every time he encounter the Pharisees and Sadducees, they chide him for being spiritual rather than religious. To them, he was reckless in a negative sense, he was an enemy. It made no sense for a shepherd to leave 99 sheep in order to find one. That didn't stop him though. Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, opened his arms to children, sat down with the tax collectors.
When I was your foe, still your love fought for me,
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me.
Jesus was God's one and only son. In that culture, the men were the superiors, sons were the ones to carry on the father's legacy and yet, God sent the only one he had to die for sinners and unbelievers. His son was sent to live a perfect live among imperfect people only to die on a cross after being mocked and beaten. Why? Because he loved us that much.
No shadow you won't light up, mountain you won't climb up, coming after me.
No wall you won't kick down, lie you tear down, coming after me.
No one is perfect. Romans 3:23 says, "You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail." And yet, God gave us a second chance through Noah and another one through the crucifixion. So, yes, in every sense of the word, God's love appears reckless. As a species, we're messy and we make so many mistakes. We kill each other, lie, betray, hurt, and we don't actually deserve all the love bestowed on us. Still it's there, reckless as it seems, and not only that, it's overwhelming. Isn't that such a beautiful thing?
We don't deserve it but it is freely and recklessly given. No matter where you run or what you do, remember that you're loved no matter how far you go.
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