Is it Reckless to Sing of God’s “Reckless” Love?

Tweaking popular Christian worship songs to more clearly express glorious Biblical truths

If you’re like me, you’ve come across the occasional worship song that you love, save a line or two that just doesn’t seem quite right. Often, the problem is simply a word or phrase that can be a bit ambiguous, misleading, or theologically askew.  All it would take is a little tweak here or there to make the song more clear or Biblical.  Though I am far from a poet (and I certainly know it), and I am by no means a song writer, I hope the below rewrites might prove a helpful alternative to some of those problematic bits of songs the church loves to sing.

But before we get started, I wanted to make one thing really clear.  With few exceptions, I have very little insight into why an artist may have chosen the words they have.  Words are funny little things – each one attached in our mind to a definition that can vary widely from one person to the next.  My concern – in as much as it is possible – is to seek language that is clear and less prone to misunderstanding. Notwithstanding, It’s important to give the song writers the benefit of the doubt, even when reworking their content – and not jump to conclusions about them, the validity of their faith, or the intent of their heart, simply because I feel a line may benefit from a tweak or two.   

Reckless Love

Cory Asbury, 2018

Admittedly, I’d say this song is in need of more work than most. It is undeniably catchy and moving – the music and lyrics come together in a really compelling way that saw the song’s popularity spread like wildfire when it hit the worship scene in 2019.  I suspect one of the reasons for the song’s meteoric rise, though I’d argue it’s more subconscious than intentional, is it’s appeal both to our spiritual sensibilities and, I’d argue, our carnal, pride-hungry flesh that loves to be made much of. For many – and I hope most – the primary response of the heart to this song is “look how special God is”, but because of the song’s focus on what God did for me – and specifically what He did for me, individually – the door is left cracked, if not wide open, for our heart’s response to instead be, “look how special I am”.   

At the center of my concern is the use of the word reckless.  It’s problematic.  God’s love is never-ending, overwhelming, sacrificial, amazing, unfathomable, incalculable, and glorious, but is it rightly defined as reckless? In common vernacular, the definition of reckless is, “[acting] without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.”  We use reckless to describe careless or dangerous driving, or to describe a disregard of the law.  It carries with it the connotation of not considering, knowing or caring about how your actions will impact others. Even the more positive connotation of loving with reckless abandon, implies a degree of uncertainty and a sort of laser focus on the object of one’s affections that fails to consider the potential collateral damage of those actions.    

But, by this definition, God is anything but reckless. He is sovereign, omniscient and omnipresent.  He knows exactly what will happen – indeed He ordained it.  What makes the cross so beautiful isn’t that God was playing a cosmic what-if game, hoping that people will respond if He just shows them how much He loves them.  Rather, the beauty of the cross is found in God’s purposeful, certain and perfect plan from eternity past to both glorify Himself and lavish His elect with grace and mercy that they neither deserve nor can ever earn. Yes, it includes our rescue at great cost, but both the rescue and our very need for it were part of God’s eternal plan (Acts 2:22-36) to display His glory and maximize our joy in it. 

Also of some concern, the general thrust of the song paints an unclear picture of God, more like a desperate parent frantically searching for a lost son, than a sovereign and lavishly loving God who doesn’t just pursue His lost sheep, but ensures everything from their rescue to their eternal wellbeing (Romans 8:28-39). 

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”

Matthew 18:1-6, 12-14 , NASB 1995

And finally, here’s a pertinent question I like to ask when contemplating a worship song: Do you need to be redeemed to love this song?  For Reckless Love, I think the answer is, no.  Yes it talks in innuendo about our sin and rebellion, but it is a far cry from making it clear that we have willingly sinned against a holy God and deserve only wrath.  The main focus of the song, however, is on how much God loves me, the individual, to the point that He will even leave the ninety-nine, and presumably risk their safety, to go find me. Indeed, if God risked the safety of His flock to save one lost sheep, He would be acting recklessly. But Is that what this parable teaches? I do not believe so. In his sovereignty, God does not risk. He does not try. All that He purposes is accomplished. This parable is recorded twice in Scripture; in Matthew and Luke. Most likely these were two separate occasions where Jesus used a similar parable to teach. For the sake of this matter, I’d suggest we consider the Matthew 18:1-14 account, and how the connection between the parable of the lost sheep (12-13) and Jesus’ conclusion (14) that it is not the Lord’s will that one of these little ones (those that believe in Jesus [4]) perish. On its own, this connection may be a bit weak, but we see this confirmed in passages like John 10:28f and Romans 8:28-39. In other words, the 99 are left in safety, not danger.

Yet apart from this Biblical context, it is not hard to conclude, especially as the song crescendos to the reckless love that would leave the ninety-nine, that I must be really special for God to risk so much for me!  And that is a very dangerous conclusion. It is true, God dearly loves His saints and He displays this love for us in countless ways. It’s also true that because we are made in God’s image, we have intrinsic value as living mirrors that reflect God’s value. But those truths notwithstanding, the Bible goes to great lengths to point out that God’s love is ultimately despite us, and not because of something good in us, past present or future (Romans 9:10-13). What makes God’s love so lavish is that it is utterly and completely undeserved. We deserve eternal wrath, but we receive eternal paradise in the presence of our great God and King. Now that’s something to sing about!  

Redemptive Rewrite: Lavish Love

Changes Highlighted with bold text

[Verse 1]
Before I spoke a word, Your love was set on me (Deuteronomy 10:15, Ephesians 1:4)
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You were poured out for me (Philippians 2:7) 
You have been so, so kind to me (Romans 2:4)

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God (Ephesians 1:7,8)
Oh, it chases me down, ensures that I’m found, brings me to the fold (Matthew 18:12-14)
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You died in my place (John 10:15)
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God

[Verse 2]
When I was Your foe, still Your love ransomed me (Romans 5:6-11)
You have been so, so good to me
Though I denied Your worth, You paid it all for me (Romans 1:18-23)
You have been so, so kind to me

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God
Oh, it chases me down, ensures that I’m found, brings me to the fold
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You died in my place
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God

[Bridge]
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
To rescue me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
To rescue me
(3x)

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God
Oh, it chases me down, ensures that I’m found, brings me to the fold
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You died in my place
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, lavish love of God

May the lavish love of the Lord be our joy, as we marvel at God’s unending fountain of love we could never earn and do not deserve!