Time for Some Brain Food

Ok, so I usually dont post like this, but since it is something that was recently brought up in school, I have to address it.

"Cruficied, laid behind the stone
Live to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and though of me above all"

This is truly a great chorus, up until the last line. I realize that this song was not composed by Michael W. Smith, but he is responsible for popularizing it. Christ was, indeed crucified, bearing the weight of God's wrath on the sin that entered the world through the fall. After his death, he was buried behind in a tomb, sealed with a large capstone. At the end of His life, Jesus endured incredible rejection by those who just days earlier had cheered him. Much like a rose, stomped to the ground by schoolchildren who know no better;

"...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we
are healed." Isaiah 53:5

But this is where it gets interesting. Yes, Christ bore the weight of sin on his shoulders for all of mankind, past, present, and future. However, on the forefront of his mind was not me, nor you, nor any other person (as the song suggests). God's greatest pleasure is the magnification of His own glory. His desire to bring his only son to death by a Roman cross was not because he was thinking of you and I, but rather He knew before time that this single act in history would be necessary to further HIS OWN GLORY.

The main point of this is not to rant (well, at least not too much), but rather to make sure that when you set foot in a worship service, and beging to sing praise, that you not be overly critical of what you sing, but also do not be apathetic. Make note of things you don't understand or have questions about, and address those questions in study. Singing something like "you thought of me above all" is not only unscriptural, but borerline heretical in nature. Just because it makes you "feel good" and get warm fuzzies does not mean that what you are singing is biblically sound. Don't be afraid to question what happens around you. It will give you a better theological base on which to stand down the road.