[Mary Naeem]

Does all this mean that the song “Reckless Love” is unbiblical? Giving the songwriters the benefit of the doubt, we can assume that they are speaking from the perspective of human appearances. That is, God’s love is so extravagant that, from our human perspective, it seems to be reckless. To an outsider—to anyone who doesn’t understand who God is—the way that He loves His children looks to be rash and maybe even foolish. Why would He love us? Why would He give up so much to redeem us and restore us to His fellowship? To use the parable to which the song alludes, why would the shepherd leave the ninety-nine to rescue the one?

So, in the sense that God’s redeeming love is unrestrained, lavish, and utterly surprising to sinners, we could say that it is “reckless.” Such a description is at home in songwriting and poetry. At the same time, we understand that God’s love is not “reckless” in the sense of being crazy, brash, or unthinking.