So many of the songs about God’s love currently being written and sung are cheap. They are mushy without being hardy. Like milk-bloated cereal, they drip with emotion but fall flat on substance. Such cheap love songs act like God is our cosmic girlfriend. God is not a girlfriend; God is God.
Cheap love songs typically talk about how great God’s love is for us, full stop. They fail to consider how God’s great love becomes great for us. Biblically, we know no great Godly love apart from an angry God. If God was not angry, he would be bad lover. If he didn’t grow wrathful over idolatry, murder, lying, jealousy, gossip, and sleeping around, then his love would be cheap. He’d be like the pathetic girlfriend whose identity is so bound up with male affection, that she just takes a beating. But God stands up for himself, for his infinite glory and beauty, and says, “I will not be abused. Those who treat me poorly must suffer the consequences of failing to honor the God who is infinitely honorable.” And so he pours out his righteous wrath and anger by putting to death his enemies or by putting to death his own Son. Because God is angry and just; his love is deeper than we will ever fully comprehend.
In order to understand God’s love, we must understand his anger. God’s anger inevitably leads us to the cross where justice and mercy meet in perfect, soul-wrenching, Christ-crushing, sin-forgiving, life-giving, love-flowing harmony. For those that hope in Jesus, the anger of God against our unrighteousness is mercifully diverted from us onto His beloved Son. As a result, God preserves and promotes his justice and humanity’s joy where anger and love converge, at the cross. The purpose of God’s anger is to display the depth and character of his eternal justice and his love for us. When we understand that God’s love is God’s because of his justice and anger, only then can we begin to comprehend how great a love he has for us.
So how do we write worship songs that speak of God’s great love, not cheap love? Three suggestions:
- Contrast God’s great love with his great wrath. The more we see God’s just wrath, the more we see how great his love is to save us, “a wretch like me.”
- Show how God’s love is ours in the death of his Son. Text after biblical text ties God’s unfailing love to the sacrifice of his Son.
- Articulate the greatness of God’s love alongside the magnitude of his glory. Reveal that God’s love is just one aspect of God’s many splendored glory.
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October 8, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Nate Navarro
What I agree with in this post is your theology of God’s Love….I think it is sound theology, accurate and biblical.
What I disagree with is how the post in general seems to say(maybe it doesn’t) that every song believers sing corporately should include a full theology of the topic of the song being sung.
For instance, if we are going to sing a song about God’s love, we better include a verse about his wrath….this could be taken too far and put unneccessary pressure on song writers…..if we are going to sing a song about Joy, we surely need to include a few lines about mourning, so we can really understand joy, or if we are going to sing a song about God the Father, we better include a few references to Jesus and the holy spirit,etc, etc, etc….you get the point.
Sometimes a song writer can write a song that includes all of it…creation, fall, redemption, mission….but there are also lots of really good songs that don’t…they talk about one aspect of our faith, our lives, our world, and they do it well.
In fact, many times “christian music” takes a lot of hits artistically because every song is trying to tell the whole story….where in songwriting circles…it can be seen as a talent and a gift to be able to exctract one part of life’s story, or in this case, God’s story, and write a song about it.
As one who leads believers in corporate worship, I feel the responsibility to sing correct theology, and to include songs ranging from focusing on the cross, gospel love, community, mission,struggle, affection for our savior, his affection for us….but I do not feel the pressure to make sure every song includes a complete theology of that songs main topic.
This may not be what you meant, but you can probably see how it could be implied.
In defense of songs that speak of Gods love for us, I think they are important because as believers….
1) We are in Christ, no longer subject to God’s wrath, but covered in his love, this should be remembered and celebrated.
2) we know we are called first to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind” as we are aware of I John 4:10 which says,”In this is love, not that we loved God but that HE LOVED US and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins”
3) I believe in our culture we struggle with the thought of God’s love towards us, many of us believers are weighed down and driven to performance and works to please God because we have a narrow view of how much God does love us…if we are in Christ!
Thanks for the post and for asking me to weigh in!
October 8, 2008 at 9:11 pm
jdodson
Nate,
You are certainly correct to point out that every song doesn’t need to be harmonized theologically! That is not what I am suggesting; rather, I am advocating that the very weak doctrine of love be strengthened through song-writing. I agree, many need to know the love of God but cheap love does them no favors. The kind of “love” that lets you live a reckeless life Monday to Saturday only to show up at church on Sunday to be reminded that God loves you is not God’s love. God’s love calls us to repentance, faith, and grace.
Great points on writing songs that include everything.
October 8, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Nate Navarro
Sweet! I agree cheap love does us no favors!
You raise an incredibly challenging topic? How do we sing about God’s love in a way that leads people to repentance, faith, and grace?
And if it is true that his kindness leads us to repentance, how do we sing a correct theology of God’s love that magnifies his kindness towards us in Christ?
I shall grab my guitar and my bible and press on! Thanks again!
October 9, 2008 at 2:20 am
Songs about God’s Love are Cheap « Creation Project
[...] Posted by jdodson under Theology Read about weak worship songs about God’s love here. [...]
October 9, 2008 at 2:29 am
Jordan Whitmore
I have to admit, I’ve always had a hard time singing the songs that are focused on God’s love for us. But I’ve never deciphered why the struggle was there for me. Was it because something was missing theologically, or was it because I have a hard time believing God loves me sometimes? Maybe it makes me feel a little selfish to sing about?
So this blog and Nate’s comment made me think about this a little more.
I think you’re right, Jonathan. I think there are some cheap songs out there. And I think Nate is right in that some people have a hard time believing.
So, personally I think it would be cool to tie in the fact that sometimes it’s hard to believe, but then follow that with truths that don’t evoke short-lived pat on the back kind of feelings, but instead remind us of something that can’t be earned by our efforts or abused by the lack thereof. And I agree that to do that, you have to present a fuller picture of the nature of God’s love…not just the parts that feel good.
Not all worship songs should have the requirement of full gospel theology, but I think the topic of God’s love is such a weighty thing, such a huge thing, that it can’t be written solely from an emotional standpoint or it just falls short.
So, now that we’ve all talked about what it should be, who’s gonna write it? I vote Nate. This one’s gonna be a challenge!
October 9, 2008 at 10:08 pm
jdodson
I love this part of your insightful comment, Jordan:
“So, personally I think it would be cool to tie in the fact that sometimes it’s hard to believe, but then follow that with truths that don’t evoke short-lived pat on the back kind of feelings, but instead remind us of something that can’t be earned by our efforts or abused by the lack thereof.”
November 14, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Tom
So, can you give us some examples, some titles of songs that you believe to be “cheap,” or theologically-thin or -vacant, and why.
Thanks.
Tom
P.s. I’m working with the youth of our church in helping them become better, more thoughtful discerners of biblical and non-biblical music. Would like to give them a couple examples of lyrics of theologically-thin songs.
October 24, 2009 at 6:20 pm
A Free Spirit
What does it mean to say God is love in a metaphysical sense? I suspect the answer is more difficult than it might seem.
You might be interested in the following post:(http://deligentia.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/deciphering-god-is-love/).
Nice post!