That Guy

Every year for as long as I can remember, I've been going to this big Christian music festival called Cornerstone. If you've heard of it, well . . . you've heard of it and I don't need to explain it. For those of you that haven't heard of it, now you have. I'd tell you about how it's this big Christian music festival that happens every year and how I've been going for several years, but since I already mentioned those things somewhere else, I won't say them again.

Anyway, I was checking out some new bands at Cornerstone this year and I heard a guy by the name of Andy Gullahorn. He was doing an acoustic gig with a few other artists and while it wasn't anything fancy, his music was fantastic. He was a pretty good guitarist, but his lyrics are what really got me. They were always spiritual, and they were deep. They really made me think and I liked that.

After the show, I picked up one of his albums (it's called Reinventing the Wheel, if you're interested). Of all the songs on the CD, I like the one called "That Guy" the best. The lyrics are profound, powerful, and deeply convicting. I don't have to say anything else; the song speaks for itself. If you want to listen along, check out this link.

That Guy
By Andy Gullahorn

He scoped out the market
All the women and kids
With so many distractions
Nobody noticed him
Nobody noticed him
He had a jacket a size too big
A skullcap on his head
And a couple of homemade bombs
He duct taped them to his chest
He taped them to his chest

God loves that guy
God loves that guy

He followed his heart
To a co-worker’s bed
He could have salvaged his marriage with kids
But he chose to leave instead
He chose to leave
He thought it was love
But it was just a mirage
So he sits in his idling car
Parked in a closed garage
Inside a closed garage

God loves that guy
God loves that guy

Me on the other hand I can write somebody off
Like the last check for a student loan
I can love when it’s convenient
But it’s not always convenient
It’s not always the easy road
I want to look past the outside to the well-meaning heart
To the good they forgot that they had
Teach me to love, teach me to love
Teach me to love like that

He messed up again
Wanted to disappear
But he can’t ‘cause he’s easy to find
I see him in the mirror
I see him in the mirror

God loves that guy
God loves that guy
Teach me to love, teach me to love
Teach me to love like that
Love like that

*     *     *     *     *

How could God love a suicide bomber? And what about an adulterous husband who kills himself? How could God love a guy like that? Those people are both sinful and evil. They don't deserve God's love, right?

Right. They don't deserve God's love.

But neither do you and I.

Wow. Good song, eh?

The truth of the matter is that none of us deserve God's love. At one point in time, we were all enemies of God because of our sin (Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21). For reasons that we can't even begin to comprehend, God loves us anyway---enough that He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world. Remember that verse from John 3?

For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (ESV)

I think that we as Christians often gloss over the "For God so loved the world" part. We don't really think about what "world" means. The verse doesn't say that God only loves Christians or righteous people. God loves everyone (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:19), regardless of whether or not they love Him back. 

Consider Jesus' ministry on earth. He spent a great deal of His time with outcasts and misfits---people that everyone else in society despised. On several occasions, Jesus ate with tax collectors, who were considered liars, cheats, and thieves (Matthew 9:10-13, Luke 5:29-31). Jesus saved an adulterous woman from stoning (John 8:3-11) and spent time with the Samarian woman at the well, who wasn't married to the man she lived with (John 4:4-26). When the thief that was crucified next to Jesus repented of His sins, Jesus befriended Him as well (Luke 23:39-43).

The Pharisees and religious leaders were disgusted by Jesus' behavior. They simply couldn't understand why He spent so much time talking and fellowshipping with sinners. When they demanded that Jesus explain Himself, this is what He said:

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:12b-13 (ESV)

The reason Jesus spent so much of His time with sinful people is because they were the people that needed His love the most. I think that we often have a hard time understanding that concept. When Jesus saw a sinner, He saw someone in desperate need of His love. When I see a sinner, I usually see someone who deserves condemnation and judgment, and that's wrong. It's not our place to judge others (Luke 6:37), but instead to love them, regardless of how sinful or wicked they are.

One of my favorite lines in the song is "I can love when it’s convenient, but it’s not always convenient; it's not always the easy road." It's really a convicting line. All too often, we love only the people we want to love, and then only when we feel like loving them. That's not how Jesus loved, and we shouldn't love that way either. Loving others isn't always going to be the easy road, but it's always going to be the right one. It's the road that Jesus walked and it's our job to follow in His footsteps.

God loves that guy. Do you?