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Sometimes a song comes along and it seems to touch something deep in people’s hearts. Cory Asbury’s well-known worship song, Reckless Love, is one of those songs. Yet some were uncomfortable with the idea expressed here.

Let’s look at this chorus for a moment:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God!
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found
Leaves the ninety-nine
 I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it
Still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God!

The sticky point I think for many is that it seems inconsistent with our understanding of who God is to say that He is reckless in any sense. But let’s take a moment and think about that word, “reckless.”

What does it mean to be reckless? We tend to see it as careless or having no regard for what is right or proper or even safe. But when I think about this word, I think that we see it in a sense of irony—like calling the extremely tall guy “shorty” or some such silliness. One of my best friends through high school went by the nickname Reckless. I don’t even remember why, but I seem to think it had something to do with some close call behind the wheel.

The real intention behind the word I believe is supposed to be a lack of caution. It is to be unconcerned for any unintended consequences of our action. That idea really does track with the words of this worship song, doesn’t it?

If we think about God being reckless in His loving pursuit of our hearts—not at all cautious or concerned with any possible unintended consequences—we start to see the intention in the song.

Let’s take that in a deeper direction.

I write much and often about how God has taught me about Himself so much in my own role as a father. If I suddenly became aware that my child—or right now I would say one of my grand babies—was somehow in some imminent and grave danger, I would be absolutely unconcerned with what it might cost me to reach them. I would be reckless in my attempt to rescue them. Wouldn’t you?

Whether you agree with my assessment here or not, I hope you can at least see the intention behind this song that has gripped so many with its very palpable expression of how deeply and intensely God’s love for us really is. Do you see it?

It seems consistent with this description of the relentless love in Romans 8:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8.38-39

So… I want to challenge you to stop and listen for a few minutes to this song. Reflect on the relentless and, yes, even reckless love that God demonstrates toward us.

Then take some time to respond to Him.

Father, would You teach me in a deeper, more tangible way, how much You really love me?

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If you enjoy these musical devotional posts, let me know in the comments and feel free to suggest a song that speaks to you in a significant way.