Star-Crossed No More

Who doesn’t love a great love story? The plot of nearly every TV show, movie, and novel involves romance in some form, and if it doesn’t, something feels missing. Countless talk show episodes center around relationships. Many of the tear-jerking videos posted all over social media are about couples fighting the odds, sticking together, and never giving up. Not to mention the year-round Hallmark movies – they have love stories for every season! We’re obsessed with love. We love watching these stories develop; the classic star-crossed lovers storyline a particular recurring favorite. We root for them to overcome the odds, defy family and societal expectations, forgive each other, trust each other, and just be happy together for the rest of forever. Who are some of your favorite couples? There’s Romeo and Juliet, Jim and Pam, Buttercup and Westley, Jack and Rose, Aladdin and Jasmine, Cora and Hawkeye, Arwen and Aragorn, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Ross and Rachel, Jamie and Claire, Tony and Maria…I could literally just keep listing couples for the next several paragraphs because there are SO many!

It’s a beloved storyline that never seems to get old with an audience. This is because it is a part of how we have been created, woven within the very fiber of our beings. All of these stories resonate again and again, no matter how many times we watch or read them. It’s because they all reflect (to some degree) the greatest story of star-crossed lovers that’s ever been written:

The one between God and mankind.

Between you and Jesus.

At this point, perhaps I’ve blindsided you. Perhaps your thoughts boarded this train, ‘Wait what…that’s a little weird Werness…” Is it though? Marriage, the relationship between a husband and wife, is what God uses here on earth as the closest representation of His heart: the relationship between Jesus and His Church. God revealed glimpses of His heart for Israel to the prophet Hosea by telling him to marry a prostitute and love and pursue her no matter what. God is a God of romance and pursuit. He knows (to a much greater and deeper degree than we could ever experience) the heartache of betrayal, indifference, and hurt that comes with it. But He also knows the immense joy and love that is also possible in relationship. He radiates it in His steadfast love and pursuit of each of us, never giving up, never holding back.

The relationship between God and Adam and Eve was in beautiful harmony in the days of Eden. They walked and talked together through His creation, in perfect, intimate companionship; the way God always intended it to be. But, we all know what came next: the serpent, the doubt and mistrust of God’s ways, and the decision to follow their own way; the fall. The consequences that followed (Genesis 2-3) have rippled through every generation since, leaving no human untouched by the curse of sin.

What was beautiful is now broken, fractured. Sin is much deeper than just behavior. It is rebellion against God and trusting our own ways over His. It is an ugly, dark wedge that was driven so deep into the relationship between God and humanity that it would take the impossible to make things right and restored once again.

Talk about star-crossed! How in the world could such a chasm be overcome? How could there possibly be hope for this relationship? The divide too great, the brokenness beyond repair…it’s never going to work…right?

Let’s take a look at a song from The Greatest Showman to help answer this question. In the context of the movie, this song is about two people from completely different backgrounds and social standings. As you might guess, they fall in love. The intent of this song was to speak of the struggle these two characters face – wondering if they truly can break social barriers, make a new way, and be together.

It was not the intent of this song to speak of Jesus’ love for the world, but the Holy Spirit is going to speak when He’s going to speak, am I right? I think it was the third time I listened to this song that I didn’t hear Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) singing to Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). I heard Jesus singing to me. To you. To the world.

We’ll take it a few lines at a time to help break this down so I can try to show how His voice shines through, to my ears at least. It isn’t a perfect parallel, but I think you’ll catch my drift as we go along.

As with “Never Enough” I ask that you listen to this song once before reading on and then again after.

Listen: “Rewrite the Stars” performed by Zac Efron & Zendaya, original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

You know I want you

It’s not a secret I try to hide

“The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

From the beginning, God makes it clear how He feels about you, me, and this world. He woos us with creation, with song, with whispers of His love. He DELIGHTS in you! He enjoys you. Simple as that. He doesn’t play games. He doesn’t manipulate. He wants you – to be in relationship with you. Notice how this verse doesn’t refer to God’s serenade as quiet, but loud. He’s not ashamed of His love for you and He’s not going to stop pursuing.

I know you want me

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:27

“…he has put eternity into man’s heart…” Ecclesiastes 3:11

God knows the heart of mankind and knows us more intimately than anyone on this earth ever could. He knows your deepest desire is to be with Him, whether you’re able to see and articulate that or not. The longing and striving for love and acceptance in things that never fully satisfy – you’re really seeking Him. For me, I know He knows how much I love Him and want to be with Him, even when I stray. Even when my actions declare I’m choosing someone or something else over Him. He sees through all of that and knows it’s not what I really want or what I really need.

So don’t keep saying our hands are tied

You claim it’s not in the cards

Fate is pulling you miles away

And out of reach from me

This language is cosmic and mystical, like there’s some force fighting to keep these two apart. In the context of this parallel to our relationship with God, that force is actually a real thing – not a mystical, magical being, but sin. And by sin, as mentioned before, I don’t mean the basic Sunday School answer “the bad things we do.” Yes, the behaviors, like lying, stealing, cheating, etc. are sinful, but they’re a manifestation of the deeper issue at hand – rebellion against God. Choosing our way over His because we need the control. We don’t trust Him or His goodness. As a believer, for me, there are many days old thought patterns and behaviors pull me in and I’m right back to choosing my own way even though I know it doesn’t give life.  Even though I know He has made another way for me. In those moments it’s easy for me to feel like I’ve messed up one too many times – continuing to choose my independence over trusting Him. I start believing it’s too much this time and He must really be sick of this by now. The feelings are real even if they aren’t accurate.  My relationship with Him hasn’t changed – that’s established and I am His for all eternity, but what has changed, what has been broken is our fellowship. Instead of running to Him and laying it all before Him, keeping our lines of communication open, I run the other way. No wonder it feels like the distance is only growing between us – miles away and out of reach indeed. Or at least that’s how it seems.

But you’re here in my heart

So who can stop me if I decide

That you’re my destiny?

“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.” Isaiah 43:4

Psalm 139

“‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” Isaiah 40:25

God loves each of you so deeply; He created you. He knows the number of hairs on your head! And even though sin wrecked the perfect companionship experienced in Eden, it didn’t destroy the love God has for mankind. You’re in His heart and nothing is going to stop Him. He’s already decided you’re worth it, that He wants to be with you no matter the cost. The power of His love cannot be brushed aside. Sin, Satan, this world…it’s no match for Him.

What if we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine

Nothing could keep us apart

You’d be the one I was meant to find

Psalm 139

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Have you ever been out in the middle of nowhere, where it’s so dark you cannot see your own hand in front of you? It is only in that darkness, away from the lights and bustle of city life that we can truly see the stars shine in all their brilliance. It is a magnificent sight to behold, is it not? They stretch and glimmer as far as the eye can see – fixed and infinite. In those moments, I feel the wonder and magnitude of creation. I feel my smallness in comparison to the expanse of star-studded sky above me. I’m in awe. So, when this song throws out the idea of rewriting the stars, it’s a romantic idea glossed with pretty words to be sure, but it’s so much more than that. Think about the gravity of what this means. To rewrite the stars is to change the very design of the universe; to make a new way that wasn’t there before. It’s changing the whole story. What a crazy and impossible plan, right?! And yet, if He does it, if He changes the design, nothing will be able to separate you two anymore. Ever. You were created to be His.

You think it’s easy

You think I don’t want to run to you

But there are mountains

And there are doors that we can’t walk through

How often do you long for His embrace and yet shame stops you? You want nothing more than to accept the love and forgiveness you know is waiting for you, but sin, condemnation, and shame feel like a mountain too high to climb. A line has been drawn in the sand and you’ve believed the lie you cannot cross it, that He doesn’t want you to anyway. There’s too much dirt and mess in between.

I know you’re wondering why

Because we’re able to be

Just you and me

Within these walls

But when we go outside

You’re going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all

If you’re a follower of Christ, when all distractions are set aside, when you’re able to be in His presence and block out everything but His voice, doesn’t everything become so simple? Your soul feels like it can fly? You listen to His voice – the one that beckons you to come receive rest, forgiveness, and peace! You know the truth and experience the fullness of His love. But when the rest of the day’s activities catch up and take over, other voices begin to seep in and cloud the truth – the world, the enemy, your own flesh/desires. Lies and doubts are hurled left and right and His voice sounds distant. It feels like the peace and love you experienced was momentary, not eternal.

Maybe you’re not a follower of Christ, but has there ever been a moment in your life, maybe surrounded by the serenity of nature, that you feel like God is real, that what you’ve heard about Him might actually be true? It seems possible when it’s just you alone with your thoughts, but then life comes crashing back like a wave, washing away the possibility. Surely all the horrors in this world coupled with rejection, pain, failure, and tragedy experienced personally are evidence…it just can’t be true.

No one can rewrite the stars

How can you say you’ll be mine?

Everything keeps us apart

And I’m not the one you were meant to find

I love this response because it’s true. No one can change the design of the universe. This plight feels one hundred percent hopeless. The sin, the shame, the independence – it’s that wedge that keeps us from God. Have you ever felt this way, tried to tell God He was wrong about you? That He is wasting His time, that you’re a lost cause? There’s resignation, pain, and even a bit of an anger response in this. How could He even suggest such a thing and dare to spark hope? It’s impossible. No one can rewrite the stars…unless you’re the One who created them in the first place. There was no way for us to bridge the chasm the choice in the garden created. So, what did God do? He changed the story.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

He made a way where there was no way. He came to face the problem Himself because no one else could. He paid the price for our rebellion with His own life so we wouldn’t have to. So we could be free. So we could be with Him again – nothing standing in the way.

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…” I Timothy 2:5-6

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” John 14:6

All I want is to fly with you

All I want is to fall with you

So just give me all of you

“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.” Proverbs 23:26

Isaiah 40:29-31

The characters sing these lines together and I believe it echoes the heart cry of God and each of us. He wants to be with us – in deep relationship. To adventure through all the ups and downs of this life – through all the beautiful moments and the messy ones. He wants all of your heart. And He wants to give you all of His. If we admit it to ourselves, this is what we desperately long for as well. To experience all He means by the promise of abundant life – to be fully known and fully loved. We want more of Him and more of the joy, peace, and love that can only come from Him.

It feels impossible (it’s not impossible)

Is it impossible?

Say that it’s possible

I love this progression. Imagine the exchange is between you and Jesus here. After declaring how both hearts want each other desperately, the doubt and despair creep in again – it’s impossible. And then He speaks truth: it isn’t. At this your heart shifts. Your statement of impossibility loses some punch. It turns to a question – wait, is it? And finally, you declare hope and desire that you can be together, telling Him to speak truth; to tell you you’re not dreaming. That your heart can be free to hope, to love with reckless abandon. Isn’t this what we try to tell God all the time?! About circumstances, sin issues, thought patterns, change, our very relationship with Him – it feels impossible Lord! And what is His response to that?

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’” Mark 10:27

It’s up to you

And it’s up to me

A relationship must be two-sided, otherwise it doesn’t work. God did everything He had to in order to make a relationship possible again. There’s nothing you or I could ever do to earn or cover the cost. Jesus is it. The cross of Christ and the empty tomb open up the possibility of relationship once again. But, it is also up to you. There’s a quote from The Heart of Man documentary that captures this perfectly, “God gave freedom to love and without the choice to say no, there’s no meaning to saying yes.”

Listen: “Rewrite the Stars” performed by Zac Efron & Zendaya, original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

The truth is, everything has been paid in full and His arms are open, the path clear; star-crossed no more. What will you choose? Will you run to Him, to the freedom and love that awaits?

Or, will you believe the lie and walk the other way:

You know I want you

It’s not a secret I try to hide

But I can’t have you

We’re bound to break and my hands are tied

Up Next: “The Other Side”