Redeeming and Restoring

Last week I got sent a link to a Lady Gaga song. I opened it up in youtube and went on to the next thing... but when the song hit the chorus, it really got my attention. And I ended up listening to it three or four times in a row. I didn't agree with the lyrics... to me, it seems hooking up with someone in a bar for a one night stand is about as far from glory as you can get. But the chorus managed to perfectly capture the feeling of being right on the edge of something spectacular-- not in it yet, but right on the edge of it. The song itself was somthing okay on the verge of being spectacular. And it got me thinking about times when I've felt that way in my prayer life. Like I'm at the door to the temple in Isaiah 6, and I can see the light shooting out from around the edges, and all I've got to do is open the door when that feels like a risk of being blown to atoms by the power contained there. And when Pastor Jim (at New Life) mentioned Lady Gaga in his sermon on Sunday, and was talking about how she said everything she does is in a constant quest for fame, I got to thinking that my impressions of the song also describe her. She's on the edge. She realizes she needs more, she's just trying to fill the hole in her life, the desperation with something that doesn't satisfy. Which is the same fix that a lot of people who don't know Jesus are in.

But Jesus can redeem them, even the ones who are fleeing from Him. And we should be helping with His redemptive work. But when we pray, "Your kingdom come," and long for a bit of Heaven here on earth, that means we need to get to work. Redeeming relationships. Building friendships. Redeeming and restoring the old, the tired, the broken... and not just the people here, but the stuff you find at garage sales too. Claiming the Godlikeness of a character in a book or a movie as a way to show people the Truth. Redeeming good music with bad lyrics.

Long story short, I rewrote the song. Five days after I heard it for the first time, this is what I was singing in the shower:


I'm on the edge of glory
Standing here waiting for You
I'm on the edge of glory
But I still don't know what to do
I'm on the edge, the edge
The edge, the edge (x3)
I'm on the edge of glory
Wanting to become one with You

I don't know where I'm going
I don't know what I'll find
But I'm trying hard to follow
With my heart, my soul, my mind
The only way to freedom
Is to become a slave
And the only way to live forever
Is to give my life away

I still don't understand this;
What You say does not make sense
Like the only way to grow up
Is to be like a child again

I'm on the edge of glory
Standing here waiting for You
I'm on the edge of glory
But I still don't know what to do
I'm on the edge, the edge
The edge, the edge (x3)
I'm on the edge of glory
Wanting to become one with You

And then I finally get it
This logic from above
I have stop worrying
And surrender to Your love
You'll lead me to a safe place,
And You'll protect my back
I don't need to go to Heaven
Because Heaven's where You're at

Standing in the doorway
Gazing at Your throne
Surrendering to Your awesome love
And becoming Your own

I've gone inside the glory
Walking and talking with You
I've gone inside the glory
Seeing Your love in truth
I've gone inside, inside
Inside, inside (x3)
I've gone inside the glory
Lost in loving You