How Great - It's Personal

Jesus taught His disciples about the love that only comes from Him and showed them that we are called into a personal relationship with Himself, and therefore we can know the God of the Universe, the Lord Most High. In John 15, we can find these words:
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

The song, How Great is Our God, has certainly captivated churches around the world, and it has celebrated its 20th anniversary.  A Religion News Service article recently gave some attention to the song, but not in a positive way, if you can believe that.

Consider this unbelievable - and quite frankly, irresponsible, paragraph:

“How Great Is Our God” was sung by protesters during the Jericho marches that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and has been a staple at Christian nationalism conferences in recent years. And last week, when MAGA activist and worship leader Sean Feucht stood at the gates of Columbia University to oppose pro-Palestinian protesters and to demand that the school’s president resign, “How Great Is Our God” was on his lips.

“Our hearts will sing how great is our God,” he sang into a bullhorn, with a drummer in the background and a flag bearing the Stars and Stripes alongside a blue and white Star of David waving overheard.

I think this is a great example of the phrase coined in the Happy Days, TV series - "jumping the shark." The boogey man of "Christian nationalism" is now being attributed to a popular worship song. 

Sean Feucht has been chosen to be an example, an icon of "Christian nationalism," which has never really been clearly defined, but seems to be everywhere and all Christians are partaking of it, except for the "enlightened" ones. No, Feucht is unconventional - he does worship rallies in quite unlikely places - such as the Mall of America in Minneapolis, where his "Let Us Worship" gathering was not allowed to congregate inside the mall; so they took it outside.  Or the United for Israel rally in Los Angeles last week, where those gathering stood for Israel at the University of Southern California campus.  Many commentators are fond of calling out what they refer to as "Christian nationalism," but really don't tell you what it is - I guess if someone is singing a worship song within 100 feet of an American flag, that makes it somehow harmful.  Rather to be a Christian and love America than someone who loves the terror group Hamas. 

But, now RNS says How Great is Our God is some sort of nationalist anthem because it is sung by Christians who love Jesus and love their country and exercise their free speech in public rather than hidden in a building. 

Of course, the writer found a willing "expert" to back up the claims - enter Leah Payne, who's written a book on contemporary Christian music.  She said that...

...“How Great Is Our God” showcases the skill of Tomlin and his co-writers — who have fused the power of stadium rock anthems with Christian lyrics, creating songs with infectious hooks that draw a crowd into singing along.

“I don’t think they get enough credit for being skilled at what they do,” she said.

Payne notes that the song is easily singable, and that works well at protests. The article notes:

The lyrics of a song like “How Great Is Our God” can be vague enough that verses describing the God of the Bible could easily be adapted to mean the God of America or the God of a particular group of people.

“When I think of ‘How Great Is Our God,’ I wonder, who is the ‘our’?” Payne said.

It's not obvious? This is a worship song, a song of worship to God, Almighty God, the One True God - please! 

Adam Perez of Belmont University is quoted in the article, which states that the song "...draws clear lines between good and evil, darkness and light, which lends itself to partisan politics. Perez said the songwriters didn’t intend the song to be political, and for many people, it is not. But it still has language that works for partisan goals. 'How Great Is Our God' also has a triumphant tone to it — in that God will overcome any obstacle — and that could include political enemies, said Perez. Which can make it a fit for protests."

By the way, no quotes from Chris Tomlin in the story. 

Could we dispense with the subtle implications about things becoming "political," and that Christians shouldn't be participating in that?   I think you could make the case that those complaining about Christians being too "political" are they themselves taking part in speaking out on behalf of more "progressive" causes. 

I'm not sure what this is even about!  To demean a worship song that I would dare say has been sung by millions of Bible-believing Christians and somehow characterize it as being a "protest" anthem - in a negative way - well, that's beyond the pale.  It's hard to get through to people, even some Christians, that there are believers who believe their deeply-held Biblical beliefs inform every area of their lives. 

"Who is the "our," this author asked. Our God is the One who created the heavens and the earth, the God who is sovereign, who rules and reigns, the God who loves fallen humanity so much that He gave of Himself and sent His only Son to earth to redeem us.  That is a majestic, great, Almighty God who is full of great compassion and mercy.  

And, He calls us "His." And, we can call Him "our" God.  It's personal for every Christian believer who calls on the name of Jesus and is saved.  He's our God, because Jesus said no one comes to the Father but by Him and said that He would not cast out the one who comes to Him.  We are held in His hands - certainly we can call Him "our" God because that's who He says He is.  And, we are called to proclaim Him as the One True God, who has defeated sin and death and made a way for us to know and serve Him.