In This WorldDavid Tatereckless love, is god reckless, love, bible, bible study, worship music, david lee tate sr1 Comment

My God Is Not Reckless

In This WorldDavid Tatereckless love, is god reckless, love, bible, bible study, worship music, david lee tate sr1 Comment
My God Is Not Reckless

It is no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the song "Reckless Love."

That's a soap box I could stand on for hours, defining terms and breaking down how we can't allow our preference for a catchy tune to allow us to embrace what is, at best, shaky theology. I could quote Scriptures and cite evidence upon evidence demonstrating that God's love is anything but reckless, and I have done so to exhaustion many times in the past. (I have refrained from doing so on this website, mainly because people's defenses of the song are largely emotional in nature, and so I would prefer to have a face-to-face conversation with them.)

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the song, but it wasn't until my father passed away last week that I truly began to process the practical ramifications of such shaky theology. Prior to last week, my opposition to calling God "reckless" was more so a result of zeal for correct doctrine and sober worship; now, however, my opposition is from the stance of someone whose present hope and present joy is rooted firmly in the fact that God is not reckless. If I am wrong, my living hope, my current joy, and my present peace are built on a house of cards, and my faith is in vain.

“RECKLESS”

A quick Google search for the word "RECKLESS" provides the following definition: without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action. Synonyms include rash, careless, thoughtless, inattentive, irresponsible, unthinking, mindless.

Now, hear me out: I've been in the debate before and I know the arguments. "That’s not what we mean by 'reckless,'" they will say, and then proceed to explain what they do mean, and 98.76% of the time it ends up being something more along the lines of 'relentless' than 'reckless.' Here's the issue: In order to defend the use of the word, they have to change the definition of the word. The power to win an argument is the power to define your terms, and so I stand firmly by the motto "Say what you mean; mean what you say." If you mean relentless, say "relentless"; if you don't mean reckless, don't say "reckless." If the definitions of words cease to have any meaning, then words themselves likewise cease to have any meaning at all, and meaningful communication becomes an impossibility. Therefore, regardless of what is MEANT by the term "reckless," I can only present my argument based upon what the majority of people will UNDERSTAND when they hear it sung. And as a person in the midst of grieving, how damning the word can actually be in describing the love of God.

IS GOD THOUGHTLESS?

My dad and I were riding our bikes together in the woods one moment—having a great time laughing and enjoying one another's company—but only a few seconds later, I held his bleeding body in my hands as he took his final breaths, the result of a freak accident that took him from me before I even had the time to say goodbye. The God who gave me my father has chosen to take him away from me; am I to think that He did this without thought for me or without thought of His creation or without thought of what He was doing? One of the most gracious things God ever did was give me my father, and it is that gracious love that has left me comforted and secure in trusting that the same loving God chose to take my father away. But if God is thoughtless—if He doesn’t think through His actions or show any thoughtfulness towards His Creation our purposes before undertaking those things which He does—then not only was God's giving me my father a result of mere careless happenstance, but His taking my dad away from me was likewise nothing more than a meaningless series of unfortunate events flowing forth from the impulsive actions of a non-personal deity. If God is reckless, then God did not consider what He was doing when He chose to give me my dad, nor did He consider what He was doing when He chose to take him away. My joy and my grief, then, come not from God, but from futile faith placed in a thoughtless creator. Yet is this the God the Bible teaches of? I do not think so; in fact, I would say that this is the opposite of the biblical God.

Our God is a thoughtful God: “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you” (Psalm 139:17-18).

IS GOD CARELESS?

Am I to think that when God chose to take my father from me, He did not care for the effects such an action would have on me or those around me? When he allowed my father to flip over his bike and land on his head, did God not care what effect that fall would have on my father's own life, and did He not sovereignly declare that it was time for my father to come home to glory? Was the entire accident the result of reckless deity who cared neither for me nor my father, neither for my family nor my friends, but was merely impulsively having fun with His omnipotent power? When the Bible speaks of the steadfast love and the mercy and the grace and the kindness of God, are these words just empty fluff meant to provide the grieving with a futile comfort, or do they actually mean something? I believe that God's love is real; I believe that He does care for His creation and that He does want to comfort them in their sorrow.

Our God is a caring God: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:1-4).

If God is reckless, then the Bible is a liar; if the Bible is a liar, our hope is in vain. But if the Bible is true, then God grieved along with me even as He took my dad from me, and He only took Him because it was part of His greater and ultimate plan whereby He would work all things for the good of those who love Him. This brings me to my final point:

DOES GOD THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES?

Was my father's death the result of a mere impulse? Did God, sitting in heaven, look down upon earth on May 8, 2020 around 4:00pm and, at the flick of His finger, send my dad to his untimely death? Did He not consider the full extent of what He was doing when He allowed my dad to pass from life to death? Did He not have mine or my mother's grieving in mind when I held my father's body in my arms?

The Bible speaks of a God who planned man's salvation since before time began, since before even the first sin was committed. It speaks of a God who was willing to send His own down as a propitation for the sins of man in order that sinful man might be saved. Can it be truly said that such a God does bot care for the consequences of His actions? Did God not care about what happened when He said "Let there be light?" Did He not care what happened as His Son was beaten and mocked and scourged and crucified? Did He not care about what He was allowing as He saw me, His little child, weeping over my father's body? The Bible says that God loves us; my question is this: Can love truly be reckless at all? Love that does not care about consequences is not love at all. Therefore, I see no way whereby the God who is love can be reckless, because it is His being love that demands He care about the consequences of what He does.

Our God cares about consequences: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb” (Psalm 139:13). Even from before the time we are in our mother’s womb, He knows the people we will one day become. He knows what is to come from all things, and He works all things according to His own purposes: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

CONCLUSION

My God is not reckless. The God of the Bible—the God who is—is not the type of God who takes action without thinking or caring about the consequences of that action. Rather, the God of the Bible is the opposite of reckless: He is a thoughtful God who cares deeply about the consequences of His actions. Being the embodiment of love, God cannot be reckless, because reckless love is not love at all.

So no, my God is not reckless. He is not reckless, and therein lies my hope during this trying time. Because my God is not reckless, I can grieve as a man with hope, because I trust that the God who took my dad away from me is a God who does think, who does care, and who does consider the consequences of His actions. God's being good means very little if He is reckless; if He is not reckless, however, His goodness gives us much reason for present hope. And so, because my God is not reckless—because He knew my grief since before the beginning of time and because He has purposed this time of grieving to help me grow for the purposes of His glory—I will count it all joy to grieve, because I trust on my God. I grieve, but I have hope. I mourn, but I have joy. I weep, but I have faith. I sing, for I have God.

To Infinity and Beyond, In This WorldDavid Tategender roles, christianity, bible study, imago dei, masculine god, christ, bible, man and woman, complimentarianismComment

Resurrecting God the Father

It is essential to my argument that I begin today’s writing with a disclaimer:

** Before even beginning to address specific gender roles as they are outlined in the Bible – especially as it pertains to why God is consistently, throughout the biblical narrative, referred to with male pronouns – we must establish that we are discussing things from a strictly Christian perspective. It is easy to object to the biblical ideas of masculinity and femininity when considering the sinfulness of man and the oppression that submission might so easily espouse within power-hungry and demeaning individuals, but we must accept, going into the argument, that we are speaking from the ideal as established by God in His creation of man. In this, we must discuss matters such as submission, sacrifice, headship, and leadership not according to the negative connotations established by a prideful and lustful society, but rather according to the biblical standard to which we all must strive. When you give a man a gun, he may use it to either protect or to slay – we may guide him towards the former, but the option by which he uses it is up to him. All rules and roles in any governance or society stand the possibility of being abused; the Bible seeks to establish gender roles in a manner that is holy and set apart, glorifying to God for the betterment of mankind. A rational and concise conversation regarding such matters is impossible if we do not first establish a stable worldview which we can then extrapolate. Thus, for the purposes of this article, it is my request that we set aside secular ideologies and rather read the “He” of God the Father according to the Biblical context, that we might better understand Christian ideals and even more greatly come to grasp the beauty of God’s love towards us. **

I will begin my argument by stating this: God is spirit. Of course, He stepped into the flesh via the person of Jesus Christ and thus lived on the earth for approximately thirty-three and a half years as a Middle Eastern man, but from eternity past to eternity future God is, according to His divine nature, spirit. Thus, He is neither male nor female; however, the way in which God manifests Himself is masculine in nature, in that he designed man as an image meant to reflect Him. Therefore my thesis is that our use of the pronouns “He,” “Him,” “His,” etc. are essential in comprehending our own selves in relationship to God.

To Infinity and Beyond, In This WorldDavid Tategender roles, christianity, bible study, imago dei, masculine god, christ, bible, man and woman, complimentarianismComment
Resurrecting God the Father
In This WorldDavid Tatea grief observed, 2 samuel 12, david, grief and worship, overcoming grief, god has made his decisionComment

Memorial Service for David L Tate, Sr.

On Friday, May 8, 2020, my dad and I were out on a bike ride. We were having a great time, enjoying the day and enjoying one another’s company, but the day ended in mourning: After a freak accident, my father died in my arms around 4:00pm. He died quickly, and thanks be to God I don’t think he ever even had the opportunity to realize what happened.

That being said, the past week has been a whirlwind. My father had always said that when he died, he wanted me to officiate his funeral; I had always assumed that I would have 20 more years to prepare, but as the Bible reminds us, we never know what tomorrow brings. On Thursday at 3:00pm, my best friend and I were enjoying a bike ride; an hour later, I held him in my arms, weeping over him, crying over him, singing over him; less than twenty-four hours later, I sat in a funeral home planning his funeral. Less than a week later, I stood before a crowd of hundreds of faithful friends and family who showed to pay respect to my father and celebrate his life.

In This WorldDavid Tatea grief observed, 2 samuel 12, david, grief and worship, overcoming grief, god has made his decisionComment
Memorial Service for David L Tate, Sr.
In This WorldDavid Tatedon't let anybody steal your joy, joy, fruit of the spirit, david l tate sr1 Comment

The Greatest Lesson My Dad Ever Taught Me

Joy. It’s a funny word, isn’t it?

C.S. Lewis defined joy as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” My personal definition of joy is “grace accepted.” When my dad would get up and head out to work, he would always look at me, smile, and say, “Be sure to keep a smile on your face and don’t let anybody steal your joy.” I always loved that, and I even passed that phrase on to my junior high, high school, and college students, so that every time they leave one of my Bible studies, I will say, “Keep a smile on your face,” to which they will respond, “And don’t let anybody steal your joy.”

All my life, my dad reminded me to find joy in all circumstances. When things are going easy, find joy. When times get tough, find joy. In the wake of my dad’s passing, I’ve been left pondering about joy and trying to figure out what it really, truly is. In the nine days since my dad was unexpectedly and quickly taken from me, I’ve realized that I no longer have him to remind me to find joy. In the time when I need his reminder the most, my dad is no longer here to encourage me towards joyfulness. In the time when there is nothing I desire more than to hear him say that phrase again, I recognize that his voice will become fainter and fainter to my memory with each passing day. In time, I won’t even remember how he said it.

In This WorldDavid Tatedon't let anybody steal your joy, joy, fruit of the spirit, david l tate sr1 Comment
The Greatest Lesson My Dad Ever Taught Me
In This WorldDavid Tatepeter pan, david lee tate sr, all children except one grow up2 Comments

All Children, Except One, Grow Up

It was a Thursday night.

Thursday the 7th, to be exact. Thursday, May 7, 2020. I was sitting next to my father on the new reclining sofas he and my mom had purchased only a few months prior, trying my best to focus on a book while the TV played and he scrolled rigorously on his iPad, helping me search for good deals on cheap, used stand-up paddleboards. After having finished my final exam for the Spring semester, I had spent the rest of the day with my dad: We went to Academy (where he bought two fishing poles—one for me, one for him), ate dinner at Cheddar’s (he got to try their croissants for the first time), and then worked out together at Clear Lake Park. He had asked me to make him two grilled cheese sandwiches the way his mom (my grandma) used to make them—a request he had never asked of me before, but one to which I happily obliged—and now we were watching Patrick Swayze and his rag-tag team of guerrilla-fighting 30-year old high schoolers single-handedly defeat the Soviet Union in 1984’s Red Dawn. The movie had started while I was still in the shower after my run (I had run back home from the park), but he had rewound it so that I could see the whole thing. Me being my typical multi-tasking self, I was trying to read J.M Barrier’s classic Peter Pan while watching Red Dawn. The book was about a child who never had to grow up; the movie was about children who were forced to grow up in extreme circumstances.

In This WorldDavid Tatepeter pan, david lee tate sr, all children except one grow up2 Comments
All Children, Except One, Grow Up
In This WorldDavid Tatejohn 18, maundy thursday, bible study, passover1 Comment

Reflections on Maundy Thursday

It just so happens that my daily Bible reading this morning landed me in John 18.

If you know anything about the time of year I’m writing this and anything about the Gospel of John, you’ll know that that means that John 18 perfectly corresponds with the events we remember today (Maundy Thursday): the betrayal, arrest, and trial of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion the following morning. (Technically the term “Maundy” refers to the foot-washing event described in John 13, but all these things happened on the same day, so it is what it is.) That being said, I thought I’d share my reflections:

In This WorldDavid Tatejohn 18, maundy thursday, bible study, passover1 Comment
Reflections on Maundy Thursday