God’s forgiveness is an amazing gift. The problem is that our logic gets in the way. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word bless is "to kneel." When our souls kneel to Him in worship or gratitude, we bless God.
As a father of three daughters, I can really relate to how I feel for my daughters when they do wrong. I don’t want to condemn them because I love them so much, and yet my Father in Heaven loves them and me even more than I do. The imagery of "God feels for those who fear Him" is very powerful and a strong reminder that we are called to bless God and kneel before Him to show our fear and adoration.
Fatherhood
Mens Designer Suits Shane Barnard and Shane Everett. Long nights on the road have been replaced with 2 a.m. feedings and princess fairytales. Worries about broken trailers and gear have been upstaged by deeper dreams and desires.
"I want my girls to know Jesus. And that’s really what it boils down to," says Barnard, who is married to singer/songwriter Bethany Dillon. "You do the best you can, parent the best you can to one chief end, that this new soul would find and love Jesus Christ." Everett is the father of two daughters with a third on the way.
Life looks a lot different for
Shane & Shane from their days at Texas A&M University. In 15 years, the evergreen college favorites have toured with everyone from Mat Kearney to David Crowder*Band, garnered three Dove Awards and sold more than 500,000 records. The two men are not only husbands and fathers now, but they’re also on staff at a local church in Dallas where they lead worship each month and teach a class at the church’s ministry leadership school, allowing them to put down roots and be involved in true biblical community for the first time. It’s through the lens of fatherhood and community that Shane & Shane’s new record,
Bring Your Nothing (Fair Trade Services), was born.
I had the opportunity to interview Shane Barnard about "That’s How You Forgive." This is what he shared with me.
Please tell me the background message behind the song.
This group of songs is kind of unique in that we get the chance to disciple college students once a week. For four hours on Monday nights we teach a songwriting class. They are full-time college students and interns at our church in Dallas. They are all super busy and I have them write a song every week. I told them if they write a song, I’ll write a song. Virtually every song from this album is my class song. I get a chance to have a Bible study with these students and walk them through the Word. I’m always surprised how much we, even as believers, don’t know God’s Word. That’s why I feel like singing God’s Word so much, to help with that dilemma.
Every class we discuss a topic in the Bible. This song is a simple doxology of sorts, a meditation on Psalm 145. The song is about His Amazing Grace! The chorus of this song declares it: "You lived the life I could never live / You died the death that I deserve / You rose to life and now You live! / That's how You forgive." The Gospel empowers us. Not just at one moment in our lives, but every day, every hour. Because of what He did, we are free! Free to live. Free to fail. Free to love. Free to give without return because all of the return we would ever need is found in Him!
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
Psalm 145:8: "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."
...Psalm 145:18-19: "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; He hears their cry and saves them."
...Matthew 18:21-22: "The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'"
...and Ephesians 4:32: "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
What's the takeaway message for listeners?
This song is a reminder to get away from our natural tendency to want to earn our salvation and to say, "God, You love me because of this good work," or, "God, You don’t love me because of that bad behavior." We think about this is why I’m saved and forgiven, or this is definitely why this our that person is forgiven. We need to uproot our religious and legalistic thoughts of who God is.
The first verse of the song comes right from Psalm 145. The chorus defines the core of our faith. The second verse is a confessional moment asking God for forgiveness and relying on His mercy. The song really resonates with people’s hearts, especially if they know the Lord. And if they don’t, it walks them through how the Lord forgives. He came, and He died for us, and He rose to life; and we get raised with Him. Even though it has a catchy beat and sounds like a pop music song, the Truth of the song is the air I breathe when I fall into despair or legalism. We need to hear the truth of the Gospel. We need a daily, ever-present reminder of our need for God.
Lyrics:
Gracious, slow to anger
Abounding in love, Good to all
All who call upon You
You will rescue and forgive.
This is why I live..
You lived the life I could never live
You died the death that I deserve
You rose to life and now You live
That's how You forgive
Forgive me, in Your mercy
I'm unworthy, of Your love
And I'm running back to all I have
In You my gracious King.
This is why I sing..
You lived the life I could never live
You died the death that I deserve
You rose to life and now You live
That's how You forgive
That's how You forgive
The measure of Your love
That You came and died for us
Let us not forget
That's how You Forgive.
You lived the life I could never live
You died the death that I deserve
You rose to life and now I live, I live, I live, I live, I live.
You lived the life I could never live
You died the death that I deserve
You rose to life and now You live
That's how You forgive
You forgive
You forgive
Check out this version of Psalm 103: "God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, He's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who fear Him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, He has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear Him."
This powerful song and Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant displays how much God wants us to dispose our hearts to forgive each other. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from Him.
If you are struggling with forgiving someone this is a great song to pray along with and ask God to break your pride and allow you to forgive someone the way He’s forgiven you. We all need to remember: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
"That’s How You Forgive" defines grace in a powerful way. Many of us feel that we’re not worthy of being near God and that He’s using a checklist to determine our worthiness. That’s not the Gospel.
The Good News of the Gospel which this song perfectly portrays it is that God accepts us no matter what we’ve done. As the song says, "You lived the life I could never live, You died the death that I deserve, You rose to life and now You live, That's how You forgive." What a wonderful, encouraging truth.
(Watch a lyric video for the song
here.)