On rare occasion I run across a song in the worship landscape that moves me deeply. It doesn't happen often. Lots of reasons for that, some of which land on me, and some of which are caused by the great machine we call CCM. In any case, I can remember the first Sunday I sang these words, and it felt like something inside my soul shook free:
You split the sea
No Longer Slaves by Jonathan and Melissa Hesler
so I could walk right through it.
My fears are drowned in perfect love.
You rescued me so I could stand and say
"I am a child of God".
I'm all for theological scrutiny, and I believe that lyrical clarity and poetry are a tough fence to walk at times in music written for the gathering, but I'm grateful that from time to time, a song that was penned from a camp or tribe I don't align with can accomplish something important in my own life and the life of the church.
Most of us struggle with either the imminence or transcendence of God. For me it's always been the former. His greatness and power have never truly been doubted in my mind, much less his presence in the global sense. It's His nearness and desire to bless that's always been on trial in my own heart, despite the mountains of evidence collected over the course of my lifetime to pronounce Him innocent of my charges.
I recognize that God is first and foremost concerned with His glory, and the display of his name and works to the world. But I think His love for us is not far behind, and in a way that's hard for us to grasp, He actually does both concurrently all the time. He's capable of parting the waters for you and I, not because he owes us anything, not because he bows down to us, not because he only exists to make the road easier for me, but because He can be glorified and act in love to make a way for His kids. Not a way of comfort or ease, but certainly one of power and victory.