When I was in my early twenties I met a guy who I thought would be my husband. I fell in love–fast and hard–and when I looked up two years later I realized I had lost myself in this relationship. This man was a great person with a good heart, but his personality and ambition were so big they did not leave much room for me. I realized that staying with him meant I would always have to make myself smaller.
Sometimes in life we find ourselves in relationships that are unhealthy–even reckless. I talk to so many women each week who are with men who don’t see them, don’t value them, and don’t cherish them, and yet, they stay. They stay trapped in these reckless relationships because they don’t yet know what real love looks like. They don’t know their value, because so few people in their lives have treated them with the love and respect they deserve.
It doesn’t happen all the time, but when I have an opportunity to freely and openly speak into the life of one of these women, I make sure to affirm in her that she is worthy of love. I tell her that God loves her and is always with her–even in her darkest place. I am not a stranger to darkness, and every time it has felt like I wouldn’t make it through, God has pulled me back into His glorious light. He never gives up on me and he never fails me.
This weekend I am attending the She Speaks Conference in Concord, North Carolina hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Today I heard the worship song Reckless Love (by Cory Asburg) for the first time and it absolutely wrecked me! I mean completely WRECKED me! (pun intended *wink*)
It speaks so vividly about God’s reckless love for us. To clarify–God’s reckless love is different from the reckless love I mentioned earlier. When we (in our human, sin-filled brokenness) love recklessly, it’s always to our detriment.
The word reckless means “without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.” (thanks Google *wink*) When we–especially as women–love recklessly, it’s usually without regard for ourselves. The consequences might be abuse, neglect, damage to our self-esteem and self worth or at the extreme, severe physical harm or death. But when God loves recklessly–in the beauty of His Holiness–it means He doesn’t care what it takes, He’ll do whatever must be done to capture our hearts. And everyday He pursues us.
When I think of God’s reckless love, I am reminded of one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Psalm 23. Verse 6 says, “Surly goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
The word translated here as “follow” is the Hebrew word radaph which literally means pursue. So this verse is telling us that God’s goodness and mercy pursues us all the days of our lives. He’s pursuing us–all the time.
The lyrics of Reckless Love say:
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me
O, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
O, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
O, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
Isn’t that so POWERFUL!?!?! There is nothing He won’t do to get to us. He will come into our darkness, climb mountains, kick down walls, tear down lies…all to get to us. He doesn’t care what it costs Him–He proved that when He sent His son Jesus to the cross for us. His love is THAT reckless. Just let that sink in…
Blessings!
P. S. Please check out this song if you haven’t heard it.
Mary Janelle Whitehurst 