You cannot turn on a radio today and not hear “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury at some point. It’s a dramatic song that speaks to the emotions, making you feel good and loved. A couple years ago, I even had our youth singing it before crowds. But when we begin to rely too much on emotion, sound judgment creeps out the door. Discernment must be ever in play.
In an interview with Cory Asbury about “Reckless Love,” Cory makes a few comments I felt called to point out. I get where Cory comes from. He grew up in “church” but he claims he wasn’t saved until he was nineteen years old. My story is somewhat similar, growing up a false convert and not genuinely accepting Christ until my 20s. He also claims, “a lot of it has to do with my family, my own upbringing with my own dad… I think so many of us, especially in this generation are so unfamiliar with the Father’s love because we had so many skewed ideas of what He’s like because of what our own dads were like.”
I understand wanting to describe God’s love appropriately as Father, and Cory’s sentiments here are true. We tend to lean toward seeing God the Father in a variety of ways: the grandfather figure, the angry, judgmental, authoritarian parent, the all-loving, permissive, more liberal parent. There’s no healthy, balanced view. One thing we MUST keep in mind is that God’s love is both merciful and just. He is equally a loving Father and a just judge, and like any good parent, there must be discipline. Hebrews 12 explains this beautifully.
“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Cory goes on to explain God’s love like a “protective nature,” stating, “if I thought of a word to describe the way he protects and watches over us, it’s furious, it’s intense. He would do anything to stop the enemy or whatever force is coming against us.”
We must use discernment here, too, friends. While we so crave this type of love and desire this to be true, does God actually protect us from everything harmful? If He did, we’d never have any sickness, loss, trials, persecution, or the like. He loves us, and is with us, absolutely! But He doesn’t stop everything—“whatever force”—we face. These are the things that essentially draw us closer to relying on Him and help us grow and mature in our faith. We would love to have our life in Christ be free from troubles. We’d love for everything to be rainbows and lollipops, walking hand-in-hand with Jesus as we travel down the road of life with full happiness and no problems. But that’s a lie, my friends.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
“’If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.’”
“When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
What we must remember here is that trouble will come while on this temporary earth, but nothing can separate us from the love of God eternally.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 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.”
Finally, Cory goes on to describe “That while we were yet sinners (Christ died for us). The reckless love of God.” I think what he wants to convey is that while we were sinners, rebelling against God, complete enemies of God—even to the point of hating God and denying Him, He sent His Son to die for us to be saved from eternal damnation for that wickedness. Cory, however, doesn’t get that this sacrifice, this kind of love isn’t reckless at all, but graceful.
Cory’s choice of the word “Reckless” does not convey God’s graceful love by any means. In fact, to be reckless is in stark contrast to God’s character. The ESV Bible does use the word reckless. Each time it is used, it describes sinful behavior.
The word used in Scripture for reckless is propetēs (adjective), meaning “precipitate, rash, reckless” (BLB). It’s also used in the place of “loose” as found in the story of the Prodigal Son and the sinful manner in which he lived after he left. This word is asōtōs (adverb) in Greek, meaning “dissolutely (corrupt/debauched/lacking restraint); profligately (extravagant/ self-indulgent/ licentiousness).”
Per Merriam Webster, the basic definition of reckless is “marked by lack of proper caution : careless of consequences; irresponsible.”
A word that is associated with everything sinful, everything that goes against the very nature of God, shouldn’t be used to describe His love.
Is this a legalistic viewpoint (as Cory also points out in his interview)?
Not at all!
This is submitting to the Father in holiness, treating Him with the reverence He deserves, and conveying truth to the world about Who He is—His true nature.
God’s love is not “reckless” love, no matter how much of a cutesy, catchy, out-of-the-box spin you want to try to throw on it.
His love is a perfect love—holy, righteous, pure, just, graceful, sacrificial, and compassionate. Not thoughtless or careless. On the contrary, He cares very much about the “consequences.” So while a song stirs emotion in our desire to praise and worship the One who loves us tremendously, let’s not throw truth and discernment out the window for feeling.
*Note: I do not follow Bethel (Cory Asbury is part of Bethel). I do not purchase their music, and I change the channel when their songs infiltrate the radio stations (as well as several others, such as Hillsong and Elevation). If you’d like to learn more about why, I highly urge everyone to watch interviews and studies completed by Melissa Dougherty, Alisa Childers, Holly Pivec, and Douglas Geivett at these links:
https://youtu.be/FCDbO8Lc5NU
https://youtu.be/lYAtKSua59M?si=x6aA16vfEQujiEQI
https://youtu.be/_0QvXOtJ58Q
References
Relevant. 2018. Cory Asbury Tells the Story Behind ‘Reckless Love’. Retrieved 14 Sept. 2021, from https://www.relevantmagazine.com/faith/cory-asbury-reckless-love-the-sunday-staple-sweeping-the-nation-exerts-honesty-and-power/
“Reckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reckless. Accessed 12 Sep. 2021.
Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 12 Sept. 2021, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=reckless&t=ESV#s=s_primary_0_1
All Scripture (unless otherwise noted): English Standard Version Bible. 2021. BibleHub.com and English Standard Version Bible. 2016. Crossway
Melissa Dougherty, Alisa Childers, Holly Pivec, and Douglas Geivett do not sponsor or endorse Lights in the Darkness and its contents.