Nothing can tear us from
The grip of His mighty love
We’ve only glimpsed His vast affection
Heard whispers of His heart and passion
It’s pouring down…
His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It’s furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And it’s waking hearts to life
The Father loves and sends His Son
The Son lays down His life for all
He lavishes His love upon us
He calls us now His sons and daughters
He’s reaching out
And it’s waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life
Your love is deep, Your love is wide
And it covers us
Your love is fierce, Your love is strong
It’s furious
Your love is sweet, Your love is wild
And it’s waking hearts to life
~Jeremy Riddle
(Click on song title to listen on YouTube)
There are moments when I step back, stunned, by the magnificence of the gospel. Something Jesus says catches at my heart, words the apostles pen still me in my tracks. It will be too humble and resplendent all at once, and I’ll think: you just can’t make this stuff up.
Singing Furious at church, the final celebration song after a service of repentance, struck me in just this way. I think it was that word: furious. I think it was how it roared in my mouth and tore out of my throat. I think it was how an ugliness was jerked as if from deep down inside, spewed, and crushed under my feet.
Furious: full of anger or energy, violent or intense.
Synonyms: Enraged, infuriated, incensed, seething, outraged, on a war path; Heated, passionate, violent, wild, unrestrained.
Antonym: Calm.
The word is a hard one for me, for I know that love is calming, and I know that God is calm. I know He is found in the quiet, in the stillness; that He is never out of control and must be infinitely self-possessed. Yet the word still resonates with me because I also know that love pursues, that it is passionate, jealous, and fierce.
When I think of the Jealous-God, the Lover-God, the Father-God; when I think of that God destroying Satan and breaking chains and rescuing souls; when I think of hell’s gates stormed and the temple cleared; when I think of Incarnation (God bursting into our world as a man) and the Resurrection (that man bursting out of death as God); when I think of Salvation and when I think of Redemption, then a furious love feels like the safest, most glorious love in all the world.
“And the God of Peace will soon crush Satan…” Peace that crushes, bruises, destroys. Love that fights, wins and heals.
“His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It’s furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And it’s waking hearts to life”
Ow. I’m crying.
i love this!