Falling in Love...Or Not?

I caught the YouTube bug today.

There's so much to see: from Tim Hawkins to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (and a few Horribly funny fan-made spin-offs) to French animation student films. It's amazing to think that it all boils down to numbers and wires, in the end. (Networking and Telecommunications for the win!)

In the process of surfing the 'net, I got a song stuck in my head. Now, I don't often take to a Praise and Worship song particularly strongly, but "More Like Falling In Love" by Jason Gray is one of those songs with lines that stuck with me.

In the process of trying to deduce the name of the aforementioned song from the parts of the chorus that I remembered, I came across an interesting blog post. Here's an excerpt:

Falling in love with Jesus has nothing to do with our salvation nor its fruits (the change Gray speaks of). How is this different from a Muslim saying they fell in love with Mohammed? Or a Buddhist proclaiming that falling in love with the Buddha brought about the change in his/her life. As Chris Rosebrough has said, what about a burrito? Why couldn’t a burrito produce this life change?

Folks we are not part of the gospel! My ability/inability to fall in love with Christ has nothing to do with my salvation.

This is, quite simply, tragic. "We are not part of the gospel"? "My ability/inability to fall in love with Christ has nothing to do with my salvation"? Is this viewpoint - apparently shared by numerous others, if the book touted on the site is any indication - responsible for the cold hearts of Christians everywhere?

Don't get me wrong: I know many Christians - Catholic and otherwise - who are deeply in love with Christ. I am not so naive as to assume that this wayward blogger represents the generic Protestant viewpoint. Still, the fact that people apparently see faith in Christ this way is heartbreaking.

Love is everything. Jesus Himself tells us:

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
(1 John 4:8, RSV)

Mind, this is Scripture. This isn't "PHC Makes Up Crazy Quotes To Make A Point." Therefore, my fellow blogger has no business claiming that the song's references to falling in love with Jesus is not in line with Scripture.

I'm not defending Jason Gray...or his song. Actually, I have a few problems with the little ballad myself. The second verse claims that

...All religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet...

Huh. So the religion that has, as its basic tenant, to "Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength" is a stone tied to your feet? That's an unusual analogy. Religion doesn't make you a sinner: your choices make you a sinner. Religion just tells you where you went wrong so you can do better next time, instead of making the same mistakes over and over again.

Love is important. It's the basis of the Christian life...of human life, really. Theologists theorize that love is, literally, what makes the world go 'round: if God stopped constantly loving us, we would simply cease to exist. After all, God made us and holds us in existence; and we already established that God is love. What can exist in complete absence of God? What can exist without love?

Nothing, apparently.

I find it highly ironic that in my last post I agonized over the fact that God often seems distant. I think this is my answer. Love is everywhere, whether we see it or not...whether we feel it or not. The sun doesn't stop shining just because our view of it is obscured by clouds. One could say it's a problem on our end; the sun had nothing to do with it. In the same way, 'cloudy days' on which we can't find it within us to bask in God's love for us don't negate the fact that His love is always there.

When I think about myself in relation to God, I imagine myself as a small child. On good days, I'm about waist-high: just the right height for God to reach down and pat me on the head. On bad days, I'm about three inches high and I curl up in the palm of His hand. Either way, it helps me to realize two things:

There is a God, and second, I'm not him.
(Fr. Cavanaugh in Rudy)

In other words,

God is bigger than the boogie man!
He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV.
Oh! God is bigger than the boogie man,
And He's watchin' out for you and me!
(Jr. Asparagus and Bob the Tomato in Veggie Tales: Where's God When I'm S-s-scared?)

God is love, and He isn't going anywhere. He has promised to love us eternally, whether we are receptive to that love or not. And I should stop waxing philosophical and backing it with obscure quotes and go to bed already.


Good night and God bless,

PHC