Beg—a New Song by Shane and Shane

Do you ever hear a song that just messes you up? Recently I got to hang out with Shane and Shane while they were coming through Nashville. Even though it was early in the morning, I got to hear a song from their upcoming album which will be released next week. From the first time I heard them sing “Beg” to the hundredth time I have played it, I still get messed up. Before we go on any further, you need to go hear it for yourself. Because it is not out yet, you can hear a preview on their site www.shaneandshane.com.

This is the kind of song you cannot keep from listening to over and over. I am not one of those guys who will listen to a song and just click the repeat button and annoy everyone in earshot of me by the same song playing steady for an hour or more. BUT I find myself clicking the back button every 4 minutes and 36 seconds until I realize I have listened to this song about 40 times and I begrudgingly allow the next song to begin. This song just hits on something I guess I have not been able to say myself. I am not an artsy guy, and the fact that I am blogging about a song makes me uncomfortable, but this song just gets to me, in a good way.

The Christian life is a fascinating one. Just the fact that the creator of everything desires a relationship with me, is enough to mess me up. The difficulty for me is that far too often I want what the world offers, too. There is a struggle and a rebellion within me even though I know what I should do. I often wonder if I can love God the way He asks. Can I love God in a Matthew 22:37 kind of way? Maybe it is possible, but most of the time it doesn’t happen. This is the message the song is getting to. At one point it says, “Could I love you with my mouth like a church kid should, at the end of the day my words get burned as wood. Oh, but I was good.”

It would be great if we could do and say the right things and that be enough. But there is more to it than that. There is an aspect to loving Him we simply can not do in our own strength. Another line from their song says, “I’m haunted by my God who has the right to ask me what, by the nature of my rebellion, I cannot give. So I beg for you to move. I beg for you to break through.” Let that just sink in for a bit. I had to read it several times before I could even begin to understand it. Our relationship with God is so beautiful. Not only did He provide a way through Christ for us to have a relationship with Him, He also provides the sustaining strength. My faith is built by Him and sustained through Him. There is nothing I can do on my own to love Him more or enough. Do you ever find yourself in this situation? As I look around me I see a Christianity that is becoming so weak and unimpressive. I desire my relationship to be so much more, so I beg and I will continue begging for Him to move, begging for Him to break through, begging for Him to soften my heart, and begging for Him to cause me to love Him more. I am so grateful that His love for me covers my love for Him.