The story of the Bible isn't one of a God who has to pursue us, love us, save us because we're so great. It's the story of a God who freely chooses to pursue, save and love because He's so great.
One of the big songs in worshipville over the past few years is the song Above All, made popular by Michael W. Smith and originally written by Paul Baloche. The song is terrific through the verses, declaring God's supremacy over everything in the heavens, on earth, and under the earth.
And then it crashes in the chorus. The line goes, "You took the fall and thought of me above all." Not only is it contradictory to the message of the song, but it's biblically wrong. If God thought of us above all, then He is guilty of the same idolatry He forbids.
I assume the songwriter closed with a good lyrical hook. But I also know that its sentiment is pervasive in Christian thought today, primarily because we need to feel good about ourselves. But the biblical line of thinking goes something much more like this: you're worse than you have ever imagined, embrace the reality of that, discover God's love by His grace, and know that you're more loved than you have ever imagined.
Thank you for saying this out loud.
ReplyDeleteThat song has bothered me since I first heard it, and I really dislike the way churches/singers use this song as worship material. I agree the song is beautiful...until that last line. Ha! Thinking of me? Hardly. Thinking of diligent obedience to the Father's Will? Probably. Thinking of rejoining his Father in splendor? Perhaps. The truth is, we don't know what Jesus was thinking on the cross; we only know his example of obedience to the Father's Will "above all".