God loves you and has a wonderful plan: to wreck your life

It wasn't even censored, or prettied up.

I heard it this morning; and it was raw.

So I prayed it wholesale.



Of course, that opening line of Sanctus Real song ("Things Like You") tops all the "reality songs" I referenced yesterday.

Every time I catch the opening salvo,

"Loving things like You has wrecked my life.."

(please try singing or praying that in a prayer meeting/worship service/sermon)

I think, "Now that is refreshing, brutal, healing  honesty...and on Christian radio, even."

So why can't/shan't  we sing it in/as church?

It's about as psalmish as you could ask for.

If you haven't already done it, play the first thirteen seconds of the song here, and pause it there until the bottom of this post..

Two testimonies dovetail here. First, Ole Anthony:

I was asked to be a guest on the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship television program, called Good News.   Demos Shakarian, the founder and host of the show, introduced me with great fanfare and subsequent applause from the audience.
He was a short but dynamic man and he reached up and slapped me on the shoulder and said, "And what has the Lord done for you today, Brother Anthony?"
I said, "He has messed up my life today and every day since I have known Him, because He is not interested in my life, He is interested only in the revelation of His Son in me."

There was silence from the audience and Mr. Shakarian. That pretty much ended the program. However, I received hundreds of supportive letters from those in the television audience who, like me, were weak.


And Bruce Cockburn,  from The Other Side interview, (kinsfield.com) ..almost the same story:

I guess my Christian experience has been different from a lot of people's. Every now and then, I force myself to watch one of those Christian TV shows like the "PTL Club". Sincere guys come on saying, "I was a drunkard, and I lost my my job. Then I found the Lord, and all of a sudden, my marriage was saved; my job was saved; I don't drink any more; and I'm a millionaire".

I have no reason to doubt those folks' sincerity. I could go on that show and say, "Well, I started out as an agnostic, went through Buddhism and black magic. Then I became a Christian -- and my marriage fell apart". For me, my faith is a whole other thing than those PTL guys' faith. And, although I have to say this with a certain caution, I know that no matter how much I screw up, God is still going to be there. A large part of my faith is trusting that God won't
let me screw up beyond a certain point."

Back to the Sanctus Real salvo;  I often heard that powerful opening snippet:

"Loving things like You has wrecked my life..."

 while in the car (like today), and then neglected to google the lyric.  I am sorry to say that in context the lyric is not addressed to God, but to things the narrator has loved.

But that won't stop our band at church from singing it with a capital Y.

Loving things like You has wrecked my life, made me cry
Loving things like you has made me lose my mind..

Loving things like You has left me bruised, black and blue
Loving things like you has made me so confused

And with an uncensored evangelistic and brokenhearted zeal  that turns every song into a prayer; and all passion into compassion.

Maybe Lifehouse has prayed it best :
you're beautiful
you're confusing
you're illogical
you're amazing

link

Laments are often the purest forms and formats of praise.

They are the whole truth, so help me God.

God?

Hello?

The Lord be with you..

   ....even when he is not.