Adele's new song "Hello" has over 228 million plays on Spotify and over 615 million views on YouTube (as of 12/7/15). "Hello" is also a song that teaches humility. Coming to another party, admitting wrong, and asking their forgiveness is a humbling experience. That act brings us face to face with our own fallibility and flaws; things which we naturally prefer to ignore, hide, and conceal.
No, this song is not a theological treatise. It's not meant to be. I can say with some certainty that the song was not intended to teach us anything about God. However, when we are equipped with a Christian worldview we ought to see the things around us through the lens of Scripture. We should look at life through the lens of the way God created things, through the principles and truths he has established, and through his character. So no, it's not a theological song but it can teach us some things about ourselves and about God, through a Christian worldview.
More than going to a previous flame, fling, or friend (like the song depicts) we all need to run to God asking for forgiveness. There are three phrases in the song which are worth reviewing because most, if not all, people can relate to them.
Because God is gracious and merciful, and because Jesus was willing and able to bear the weight of our sins on the cross, we don't have to say "Hello from the other side." With God, when we come to him, driven by faith in Jesus Christ and by repentance from sin, he meets us on whatever side we are on. He's there bearing the gift of forgiveness in is unfathomable grace. He answers with the most gracious and loving "Hello" that we will ever hear.
No, this song is not a theological treatise. It's not meant to be. I can say with some certainty that the song was not intended to teach us anything about God. However, when we are equipped with a Christian worldview we ought to see the things around us through the lens of Scripture. We should look at life through the lens of the way God created things, through the principles and truths he has established, and through his character. So no, it's not a theological song but it can teach us some things about ourselves and about God, through a Christian worldview.
More than going to a previous flame, fling, or friend (like the song depicts) we all need to run to God asking for forgiveness. There are three phrases in the song which are worth reviewing because most, if not all, people can relate to them.
- "There's such a difference between us and a million miles." It is good for our souls to recognize the disparity between us and God. Looking beyond the physical or geographical separation between us, there is moral and spiritual chasm between us and God. This is the reason God sent Jesus Christ; to provide a way to "close the gap" between us and God. Romans 3:10-25 paints this full picture in grand detail. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift. (v.23-24)" That gift is given only through faith in Jesus Christ.
- "I must've called a thousand times to tell you I'm sorry, for everything that I've done." This must be a picture of our life and our confession to God (no, not Catholic confession through a Catholic priest). It starts at the time of salvation when we intially repent of our sin and continues through all our life as a Christian. It is the call that Paul issued to the Areopagus in Acts 17:30 when he stated that God "commands all people everywhere to repent." However, this repentance (turning away from our sin) is not a one-time thing for the Christian. It should be a pattern - as we continue to struggle and war with sin we ought to continue to come back to God, over and over, in repentance.
- "At least I can say that I've tried to tell you I'm sorry, for breaking your heart." There are two things that stick out here. First, our sin grieves God's heart. Given the statement of Romans 3, we cannot assume that God feels any different about the depths of our sin than he did before the catastrophic flood at the time of Noah in Genesis 6:5-6. These verses read: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart." Second, unlike with human relationships, when we come to God asking forgiveness, driven by true repentance, we will never come away saying "at least I tried to tell you." Why? Because God will always forgive, when we come seeking restoration and reconciliation based on repentance. That doesn't mean we just feel sorry for our sins, but we are burdened by them to the extent that we surrender our lives to Christ and turn away from our sin.
Because God is gracious and merciful, and because Jesus was willing and able to bear the weight of our sins on the cross, we don't have to say "Hello from the other side." With God, when we come to him, driven by faith in Jesus Christ and by repentance from sin, he meets us on whatever side we are on. He's there bearing the gift of forgiveness in is unfathomable grace. He answers with the most gracious and loving "Hello" that we will ever hear.