Artiste: Cory Asbury

Album: Reckless Love (2018)

Label: Bethel Music

Reviewer: Chidimma Nnagbo

Cory Ausbury joined Bethel music in 2015. He released his ‘Reckless love’ in 2018 which hit it big. According to Kate Nutshell, ‘when worship songs make it big, they also get subjected to a degree of theological scrutiny, and some have questioned whether the message of the hit song misrepresents the nature of God’s love’. There has been criticism of the song’s title, ‘reckless love’. A wing of the criticism says ‘God loves us with clear and thoughtful intention’. Another wing says “Reckless Love became popular because it is a catchy tune that speaks to all of our human desires to be loved and known”. Cory Ausbury in his defence said in an interview, “I see the love of God as something wild, insane, crazy.”

On hearing the song at first, it may not hit any serious chord till you listen to the lyrics. It’s Rock genre is somewhat soft. It goes from soft intensity to a strong intensity and back to soft again. It feels like the music comes alive when the lyric is understood. The lyrics are strong and deep; they drive right into the heart and mind. The words can hardly be dismissed. It conjures feelings deep happiness that bring tears to the eye. Personally, I think the description is strong and beautiful and I felt the human buildup is incapable of mirroring such love with the same intensity. It is sad and I wanted to love more. Feel more. Do more.

In verse one, God’s sovereignty is described; the way that he first loved us, without us doing anything to earn it. His love was before our existence. Then he launches into the mind blowing chorus.

“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, 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

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God”
 
He describes God’s love with 3 magical words: Overwhelming, never-ending and reckless.

The song is heavily poetic and exciting in a literary sense. The chasing and fighting paints the picture of a guy trying to win a girl over; it also borrows imagery from the biblical story of the good shepherd, who leaves his 99 sheep in the field and goes off in search of a single lost sheep. He tells a tale of personal importance that nothing is done to earn. In verse 2, he buttresses the point of God’s eternal and unconditional love.

Then right to my favourite verse…

“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”

A representation technique is used here. It seems to point to Ephesians 6: 12 ‘ For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’.

It seems to say that no belief asides the gospel will stand in his way. Even if the belief is as high as a mountain or so dark it casts shadows.He’ll keep coming after you. No matter how high you’ve built your wall and how much lies you are living, he’ll still come after you. 

The song is one of those songs you put on replay till whenever.