We've been to 5 different churches in our last month of holidays. Some encouraging things happening around the place.
In our travels I was introduced to this song for the first time. It's interesting. Some wild metaphors. I was singing hesitantly through the hurricane and ocean bits, then I stopped when I got to the red words. What do you think?
He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.
Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so.
Yeah, He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves.
So we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way
That he loves us,
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves
He loves us,
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves
John Mark McMillan.
ReplyDeleteFunny what gets popular.
Worship Leader magazine listed this as 14 in their top twenty worship songs of the last twenty years.
A lot of people love that song. And love singing it congregationally. I can't imagine singing it in my context. But I'm not convinced it was written as a congregational. It's a good song to listen to - maybe it should've been left at that.
ReplyDeleteBut the incarnation is not a bit like a sloppy wet kiss from God! A sloppy wet kiss is what your great aunt gives you - kind of inappropriate and yucky. Not profound. And the hurricane and ocean metaphors sound more like an abusive relationship - God's love is something that hurts us.
DeleteOh my. There are no words. I have never heard the song, but as a poem, well ... (and as you say, I can do without a hurricane-like love).
ReplyDeleteWe have just moved and are visiting different churches. We have heard some 'interesting' songs as well.
ReplyDeleteI just listened to it on youTube. As well as the questionable lyrics, I didn't really find the tune particularly interesting either although it certainly was repetitive so I guess that might be why people who aren't very musical might get into singing it congregationally??
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with you. The lyrics are pretty bad. I couldn't have sung the sloppy wet kiss line either.
Yeah, there's no way I'm singing that. Before you even get to the sloppy wet kiss part, I get stuck at the "I am a tree". I just don't stand and sing stuff like that without feeling stupid. I'm not a tree.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that moment. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJust to pile on, I particularly liked the way that the fifth line found it necessary to address God directly. Or at least, I presume it's that, rather than the congregation is particularly beautiful.
In short, wow. It's up there.
Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI'm resisting the youtube link... It's almost like they were *trying* to demonstrate the wrongness of God-is-my-girlfriend songs
ReplyDeleteI feel badly about my previous comment, now that I know it was written the day after his best friend was killed... the tree and hurricane image takes on a more poignant meaning..
DeleteI still don't like the sloppy wet kiss line (I think he might have changed it to 'unexpected kiss') but otherwise I actually have changed my mind and really like the song.
Ergh! Bleacgh! That's taking Jesus-is-my-boyfriend to new lows...now it's God-is-my-dog; at least that's the image conjured in my mind about the 'sloppy wet kiss'.
ReplyDeleteBahaha
ReplyDelete