Tales of a Secret Rockstar

Two posts in two days. This is like a blogging explosion.
Also, I wanted to distract from my shameless accidental plea for cute single girls. And it was indeed accidental. I wrote it because I mostly thought it was funny. But it's not funny if you have to explain it.

While we were in the van this weekend, there was some interesting discussion about worship. We were talking in particular about the College Choir songs. Someone mentioned that "Friend of God" was a very "meatless" song. I found this interesting, partly because I really like the song. But also because the idea of a song having theological "meat" to it intrigues me. I asked what he would prefer to hear in music. He suggested that God's judgment is not emphasized enough in worship. We should be singing songs that make us aware of God's ability to destroy people and such. He was pretty much joking about that last part I think, but it made me think about that whole idea.

I've been really struggling with the notion of God's judgment. I grew up living in quite a bit of fear about God's judgment. I was one of those kids who was always afraid that I had inadvertantly commited the "unpardonable sin". God's judgment was very real to me. I used to go to the altar to "get saved" almost every week at church for quite a while. I suffered from an unhealthy view of God's wrath. And I fear that people who want to emphasize God's judgment and wrath in a worship service may also suffer from the same unhealthy views. Granted, God does judge, and He judges perfectly. Romans 1-3 talks about God's wrath being poured out on those who don't believe. But the interesting thing to me is the nature of God's wrath. It's not lightning bolts and floods, it's simply allowing unbelievers to continue in their unbelief and reap the consequences. But, even in this state of judgment, God is ready to receive anyone who will turn to Him.

When I look at the way God is portrayed throughout the Bible, Old and New Testament, his anger and judgment are not the most prominent characteristics. Those things are there, but it's his patience and love that really stand out. Even in judgment, God is loving and merciful. I've been reading through the books of the Minor Prophets in this past month. The thing that struck me about every book is that despite God's anger and wrath, He never fails to promise redemption for His people. He promises a future where His people will come to Him from all over the world. As I read these books so rife with judgment, it's the love of God that stands out to me. I get the impression that He hated having to hurt His people. I think He also hates watching people hurt themselves. But He is indeed holy. He cannot tolerate rebellion, much like any self respecting father would not tolerate rebellion in his own household.

The question then is, what does this mean for our worship? What do we emphasize and why? We are living in that promised era of redemption. We are God's people, who have come to Him from across the globe. Jesus Christ truly changed everything; God's judgment was satisfied in him. Romans 5 says that while we were still God's enemies, Christ died for us. God does not take pleasure in the death and destruction of humanity. 1 Timothy 2:4 talks about God our Saviour, "who wants all men to be saved." Thus, while many today are under the judgment and wrath of God by virtue of their lives, none who are alive are outside of the love of God.

One of the defining marks of the Christian community is that we acknowledge that we were once under God's judgment, but by His grace we are now His friends. This is a revolutionary concept. And to me, it is the most important aspect of the Christian experience. It is no shock to me that about 80% of the songs we sing have to do with some aspect of God's love for us and His salvation. This is our message. We are a community of the saved. How could we help but want to proclaim this message to the world. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" In my mind, a community of Christians that gathered together to sing and preach about God's dreadful judgment would be pretty depressing. Perhaps I am an optimist, but I want to rejoice when I get together with Christians. Because I see the incredible love of God that has saved us. And God has not only saved us, He has called us His friends. We continue to have relationship with Him. And that should always be our primary message, inside and outside of our community.

I agree that we need a wholistic view of God. And I agree that many of the songs we sing do not carry much theological depth. But I always want to sing about God's salvation. I get excited when I think about the overwhelming power of God's love. I could write an entire post about that concept alone. But I'll save that one for later.