“Burn, Burn, Burn” by Zach Bryan
Reflection
As I entered adulthood, ordinary faith—whatever that is—became passé. Real faith was marked by doing big things for Jesus. It wasn’t simply enough to go to have a family, go to church, and serve your community. You had to live as a radical. We were told to not be a fan. We were exhorted to be great. Invitations to join the irresistible revolution were everywhere. We did these things to exhibit God’s crazy love for us and our crazy love for God. If we really love God, we were told, we would abandon an ordinary, suburban existence for the radical, extraordinary life God is calling us to.
Instead of living in the inner city or moving to a far off country, I bought a house in the suburbs. I didn’t embrace simplicity, I grew to enjoy fancy dinners and good wine. Rather than fostering a basketball team worth of children, we had our own and gladly called it enough at three of them. For a season, I lived under guilt and shame because I failed to become a radical follower of Jesus. But the older I get, the more I’ve come to believe that radical living isn’t stepping outside of ordinary, everyday living. Radical living is finding the kingdom of God, the goodness of God, the miracle of God in ordinary, everyday living.
Lent is a time to remember both our humanity and our mortality. We get one life, and then we die. With my one life, I want to live as a person of integrity and values. I want to find the goodness of God wherever I can. So I cherish every small joy life offers: my kids’ laughter, the softness of my wife’s lips, the heat of a campfire, the burn of a good whiskey, the wonder of good music. I am a glutton; just when I think I can’t take any more, life offers one more thing I cannot resist. I want it all, joy and pain, knowing that one day I will die and no longer be able to take in one more experience of this life.
I’m beginning to think that’s the abundant life God offers.
Links
Lyrics
Everyone seems a damn genius lately
Tik-Tok talking, late-night TV
Still so much I have yet to know
We get dressed up just to go downtown
In some ego-filled late night crowd
It seems to be where I feel most alone
I'd like to get lost on some old back road
Find a shade tree and a honey hole
And talk to my grandpa again
And I see God in everything
The trees and pain and nights in the spring
So why do I still long for a home?
I'd like to lay in a field on a cozy blanket
And feel the fear of never wakin'
To know the true warmth of thе sun
I'd like to love my lady long and hard
And lay down lines of laymеn guitar
Never leave her loving arms again
My exes hate me and my friends all miss me
I wanna drown in rot gut whiskey
Leave this small town for awhile
Heading to Paris on a late-night flight
Find a bar and get in a fight
Write a few poems on a sunny balcony
I wanna be a child climbing trees somewhere
Breathing in the fresh outside air
And before I knew this life was unkind
I want a well-trained dog on a couple of acres
A kind, kind lady and a place to take her
Few good friends I can count on one of my hands
I know I'm bound to die one day
So when I reach those golden gates
I pray to say I did the best I can
Sit with my mother and the dearly departed
Send a prayer down to the broken-hearted
Let 'em know it all turns out just fine
To know me is to love me and to hate me is to wrong me
I prefer my nights so lonely
Love blues guitar, muscle cars, and gin
I'm a simple man, I don't need much
Just my simple songs and some human touch
I'm tired now, so I'm bringin' my ass home
So let me go down the line
Let me feel it all
Joy, pain, and sky
So let me go down the line
We all burn, burn, burn and die
So let me go down the line
I wanna feel it all
Joy, pain, and sky
So let me go down the line
We all burn, burn, burn and then die
So let me go down the line
I wanna feel it all
Joy, pain, and sky
So let me go down the line
We all burn, burn, burn and then die
For Further Reflection
Read and reflect on Jeremiah 29:4-7 and 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12.
Make a list of what brings you joy. Take time to thank God for every one of these good gifts.
Check out the song Simple Man by Shinedown (written by Lynyrd Skynyrd).