Along with the majority of America on Sunday night, I watched most of the Grammy’s. I really enjoyed seeing performances by bands that I’ve recently become fans of like Coldplay and the Civil Wars. I thoroughly enjoyed performances by Maroon 5, Adele, and the Beastie Boys. However, it was the second to last performance that will stick with me for a long time. Nicki Minaj is an artist that I’ve never really been a fan of. Is anyone else getting tired of these artists who are just being overly weird just for the sake of being weird? I’m tired of artists like Lady Gaga and now it seems Nicki Minaj who just want to be weird because its different, following the example led by Madonna and others. Nicki Minaj turned what was a great night of music and turned it into weird, scary, and downright awkward.
When I first saw it, I was not only mortified, but I was just plain mad. The blatant disrespect for Christianity was just shocking. I thought how in the world can someone just take a concept like Christianity and trash it when it means so much to so many people? Even if I didn’t believe in something, I wouldn’t just throw it aside and harshly bash it like she did.
However. After all of the criticism, hatred, anger, and I’m sure “praise” has died down from her performance, one thing rings louder than her music ever will. Nicki Minaj still needs Jesus. I know that without a shadow of a doubt. In addition to that, I know this – Jesus’ love can still be applied to her. I think a lot of times in Christian circles we’re quick to throw out a person or people group because of what they’ve done, even if it’s against our God, but then I just think back to the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Paul says, I, I am the worst. I’m the one who murdered Christians for fun. I’m the one who blasphemed the Lord God. I’m the one who denied his existence. Yet grace was extended to me!
Do you remember his conversion story? In Acts 9, Paul is traveling on the road to Damascus, literally on the way to arrest Christians, and Christ shown a light so bright that it blinded Paul. Paul didn’t hear a catchy sermon and powerful worship songs and walk down an isle. Jesus Christ burst into his life and said, things are going to change. It was after that moment, that Paul realized the error of his way and made a complete 180 and never looked back.
I think in a lot of ways, Paul’s experience is a lot like everyone else. Maybe not so dramatic, but Christ came bursting through our lives filled with anger, deceit, lies, lust, and idolatry, grabbed a hold of our hearts and showed us where we needed to go. A lot of times, we think its out of our love for God that we turned our lives around and chased after him. It’s the exact opposite. We are actually running FROM God, and he is pursuing us with his love. That is the practically the whole book of Romans. We look at Romans 1-2 and how God’s beauty, majesty, and glory has been made obvious to us and yet we turned away from that for things that are perishable. Then Romans 3, we start to see how the righteousness of God was manifested, made alive, in order to give us a way out. In order to give us a way to avoid the completely justifiable wrath of God. Romans 5:8 says, “But while we were YET sinners, Christ died for us.” We were still running from God, but he reached out and snatched us off our path that was leading straight to hell.
I’m currently working through 1 Corinthians 13 with the students at the church that I am working with. I feel like the word “love” has a lot deeper meaning to it than we’re willing to consider. I firmly believe that the word love is abused in such a way that today’s culture has no idea what it really means. So we look at the chapter of love, that chapter that is coined the wedding verse. The chapter that every young person who has romantic feelings loves because of how mushy it seems. However, I firmly believe that God intended this verse to be something more than just a wedding verse. I believe that Christ intended this verse to be something that not only defines how our love should look like with all people (not just our spouse) but also how Christ’s love looks like when it’s applied to us. This is the month of love, so just simply glancing at 1 Corinthians 13, you can pull away several characteristics of what this love ought to look like. It’s patient, kind, not boastful or proud, it never fails.
It’s that last part in verse 8, that I really believe is crucial. Love never fails. I think that this is not only lost on us when we make it apply to humanly standards, when we say, I love you, that is supposed to be a love that never fails, well to a degree. It’s not acceptable to say, “I fell out of love with someone.” If that’s true, then you probably never truly loved them in the first place. That may sound harsh, but that’s what I believe the scriptures tell us, we love the person we say we love till we die. But even at that, that love is still perishable, it still ends. When we look at this love between God and man. His love never fails. “For God so loved the world…” is the verse that everyone knows. I truly believe that God loves every man woman child and created being on planet earth. I also believe that we are destined to live lives that either bring us to Christ to take us away from him. I believe that God is sovereign and his will, while at times is confusing, is what makes the world go round. God is sovereignly in control of everything, and that God, that God who breathes out galaxies, who created wonders on this planet that no one has even seen yet. That God loves me. That God loves you. That God loves Nicki Minaj. That God has a love that never fails, it never ends, it is constantly pursuing us, showering us with blessings, even ones we don’t understand (like how about every time you go to take a breath, you’re allowed to take one? Chew on that for a minute).
This all-powerful God loves me and he loves you and yes he loves Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and every other artists/actor/actress/person who has denied God, made fun of him, and made fun of his people. On this valentines day, lets remember this love. This never-ending love. This never-failing love. One of my favorite artists, Trip Lee said it best when he tweeted “You won’t find the greatest love of all at a candle light dinner tonight.” That is so true. No matter how much you care for the person you’re with on valentine’s day or any other day. Nothing compares to the never-failing love of Christ. I was reminded of that during my study of 1 Corinthians 13. That out of all the different types of love that we experience on this earth. Nothing is as everlasting, as pure, as joyous, and as fulfilling as the love we have and the relationship we have in Christ. If you’re reading this and you’re not sure you know about that love, please email me at crosscenteredlife@yahoo.com and I’d love to chat with you about it.
1 Corinthians 13:13
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. “
