It seemed like a normal Sunday morning.
I arrived at corporate worship more than slightly distracted: tests were on the horizon, papers loomed heavy, I was exhausted. I wanted a nap. I wanted to stay home and watch Netflix. I didn’t want to think about the Bible. To be honest, I desired a hundred things other than Christ’s presence.
Then worship began, and we sang this lyric:
I will glory in my Redeemer,
My life he bought, my love he owns.
I have no longings for another,
I’m satisfied in Him alone.
I felt the cognitive dissonance immediately. In that moment my heart wasn’t like Asaph’s who sang, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). How then could I sing that I have no longings for another and not be a complete hypocrite? I felt like crawling under the pew in front of me.
So what do we do with passages of Scripture — or lyrics in worship songs — that describe an ideal that does not match our reality? Is it possible to affirm them from the heart without pretense or posturing?
To read the rest of this article click HERE