Something has been bugging me ever since I became a Christian. It is the idea that as a Christian, I am supposed to be "falling in love" with Jesus. If I am being honest with myself this idea makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. There is something off-putting about the very notion of "falling in love" with the Lord of Glory, yet this idea is ubiquitous in modern evangelical worship, both musical and otherwise. I guess my problems are as follows:
Firstly, "falling in love" is a phrase that by its very nature stirs up high levels of emotion. That is not in and of itself bad, but the problem is that emotions are subjective by nature. They are experienced differently, by different people. Personally, I "fell in love" multiple times before I met my wife. I felt intense emotional connections that at the time I could only describe as love. As a Christian, who now has a Biblical worldview, I realize that what I felt was intense lust for those women, not love.
In order for the idea of falling in love to be useful in worship, it needs to be defined Biblically, not emotionally. As I write this, I am watching the Catfish MTV show, where the subject is claiming to have fallen in love with someone she has never met, yet has regular phone sex with. Is this love? Certainly not. Yet this is how the phrase is used in the world today. When it is said that we need to" fall in love" with Jesus, it is almost never qualified Biblically. In my opinion this is not only not helpful, it could actually be harmful to the saints.
This leads me to my second, and far more important concern. Is this idea even Biblical? If it isn't, then where does it come from, and why is it so common in worship today? I am completely comfortable with the idea of loving God. But again, love must be defined Biblically to have any meaning at all. I believe love is very clearly defined in the Bible in 1 Corinthians and elsewhere. None of that has anything to do with the vague concept of "falling in love", prevalent in today's culture.
At this point I must point out that I am aware of the metaphor used in Scripture of the Church being the bride of Christ. But I am not sure this necessarily has anything to do with the modern exhortation for individual Christians to "fall in love" with Jesus. Furthermore, I am not an expert on the institution of marriage as it was practiced in the time of the Apostles, but I am not convinced "falling in love" with her husband was the determining factor of whether or not the woman married him. It's very likely that the metaphor of the Church as the bride, meant something very different to the initial audience of the Scriptures than it would to our modern sensibilities.
The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, our Mighty God, King of kings, and Lord of lords, is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. This is indisputable truth. But is that love, which is commanded by Jesus in Matthew 22, akin to "falling in love" as defined by today's culture? If not, isn't it about time that we stop talking about it like it is?
I am honestly posing these as questions. (Excuse me for channeling my inner Rob Bell's "I'm just asking questions" style.) Personally the use of the phrase "falling in love" pertaining to Christ is uncomfortable based on what I know about Him through the Bible. I readily admit I may be missing something Scripturaly here. I would welcome any thoughts or comments anyone may have on this issue.
