More Like Falling in Love

Give me rules, I will break them
Show me lines, I will cross them
I need more than a truth to believe
I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes
To sweep me off my feet, it’s gotta be

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

Give me words
I'll misuse them
Obligations
I'll misplace them
'Cause all religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet
It never set me free
It's gotta be

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

...It's like I'm falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper
It was love that made
Me a believer
In more than a name, a faith, a creed
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me

This is a song by Christian singer Jason Gray. I heard him sing it in concert, and heard him talking on Air 1 this afternoon, which made me think about this song again. Yes, many would say "Wait. Falling in love with God? Come on. Theologically speaking, that's just a lazy connection. You see, our feelings are fickle, and they come and go. Why are you even going there". Aaahh....that's the reason.

You see, I've spent my 34 years on this planet a baptized member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I love my church body, and I love the church I am a member of. But I have noticed throughout my years growing up as a pastor's kid, going to an LCMS college, and being involved in full-time ministry in LCMS congregations, that we can become more focused on worshiping traditions and history as opposed to worshiping the creator of the universe.

And that's where the song comes in. The point Jason Gray is making in this song is that it is about a relationship with God. Sometimes, when we sing the same hymns and the same liturgy over and over again, it can lose its' meaning. Now, I'm not advocating getting rid of hymns and liturgies! I love them and see the need for them. What I am getting at is while repetition is good for learning and remembering things, repetition also can lead to numbness to what is said and sung.

So what do we do? As in my previous post, it's about our heart. Sometimes taking the focus off of the music and going back to focusing on the lyrics is a way of refocusing. Also, I think it's part of focusing on a relationship with God, and also, in being in relationship with one another. I am still trying to figure out what form this takes on in my life, and I pray that God works on my heart to be focused on a relationship with Him.