About Me

My photo
I am a junior at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. I really like it there. The campus is small and it feels like we are all just one big family. I am a theology/secondary education major and I am discerning a career in youth ministry.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

He is someone to fall back on

Some comedy,
You're bruised and beaten down,
And I'm the one,
Looking for a favor.
Still, honestly,
You don't believe me,
But the things I am,
Are the things you need.
You look at me,
Like I don't make sense,
Like I'm a waste of time,
Like I serve no purpose.

I am no prince,
I am no saint,
But if that's what you believe you need.
You're wrong,
You don't need much.
You need someone to fall back on.

And I'll be that,
I'll take your side.
If I'm the only one,
I'm used to that.
I've been alone,
I'd rather be,
The half of us,
The least of you,
The best of me.

And I will be,
I'll be your prince,
I'll be your saint,
I will go crashing through fences,
In your name,
I will, I swear.
I'll be someone to fall back on.
I’ll be the one who waits,
And for as long as you’ll let me,
I will be the one you need.
I’ll be someone to fall back on:
Your prince,
Your saint,
The one you believe you need
I’ll be - I’ll be
Someone to fall back on.



This is a song by Jason Robert Brown. It was also sung by Aly in the movie Bandslam. This song has been stuck in my head for a long time, becoming a favorite for shower singing. I think that thing song beautifully sums up my view of Christ. I know, I know. You're sitting there thinking, but Christ IS the Prince of Peace, the ultimate Saint, one for us to model our lives after. Yet, I think that Christ only took on this role because we needed Him to.
I want to look at it line by line. He says "some comedy/you're bruised and beaten down/and I'm the one/looking for a favor." I like this. Even, not ESPECIALLY when we are bruised and beaten and at the lowest point in our lives, Christ calls out to us and asks us for a favor--He asks us to take up His cross and continue on the journey. He asks us to trust in Him and and trust that He will lead us out of the hurt.
The next part is "Still honestly/You don't believe me/But the things I am/Are the things you need./You look at me/Like I don't make sense/Like I'm a waste of time/Like it serves no purpose." A lot of the time I just look at everything God is asking of me, the life I have to lead in order to be a Christian, and I just think it doesn't make any sense. Why would a God who wants us to have eternal glory with Him call us to get down on our hands and knees and serve? Why would he call us on the hardest road we can choose from? Why can't God be like the God that some preachers preach about? The God who wants us to do well in life and saves us if we are monetarily well off? Yet, I read the Gospel and that is not the life I am called to live. Sometimes living that life is hard, it gets you down and you wonder where all the sense in it is.
In the next part, Christ tells us He is no prince, He is no saint. We think we need Him to be that, but we really just need someone to fall back on. That has recently been the image of Christ in my mind (and I generally think of God in terms of Christ, it is the easiest image for me to focus on and connect with). This image of Christ is just this: someone to fall back on. He is the person who is always there for me no matter what: my best friend.
The next par is "And I'll be that/I'll take your side/If I'm the only one/I'm used to that/I've been alone/I'd rather be/The half of us/The least of you/The best of me" Christ will always be the one to take your side, even if the rest of the world seems to be against you. When is says "I've been alone" I think of Christ on the cross. It looks like He has been abandoned, even by God as He cries out "My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?" Yet, He is not alone. God raises Him on the last day and He sends his apostles to the whole world. He then says, "I'd rather be/The half of us/The least of you/The best of me." I had a hard time a first reconciling with the "least of you/the best of me." Why would someone want the least of one, the best you. Then, I realized that the least of you (of us) is still amazing. The best of me (Christ) is low. The best and least make something amazing (I didn't explain that well, sorry).
The last part says, "I'll be your prince/I'll be your saint/I will go crashing through fences/In your name/I will I swear/I will be the one who waits/For a long as you let me/I will be someone to fall back on" Even if we don't really need Christ to be our prince, He will be it because He loves us so much. He will wait for us to come to Him for as long as it takes, He will be there for us when we are ready. He is always there to fall back on.