I lived on the hamster wheel of achievement and applause for many years, hoping to earn love and approval from God and people.
In my first decade of ministry, I served at a church that was very concerned about performance. My sermons would be deemed successful if the altar calls brought a response, and they would be considered a failure if no one came forward. As a result, I battled anxiety and people-pleasing regularly.
Gratefully, our family was able to relocate, and we found healing in a different church environment. In the process, I re-discovered just how much God loved me apart from my performance. His grace met me in my weakness as Paul described in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.
I thought of that experience as I listened to a new song recently. David Funk’s new song, “The Blood.” The song echoes the truth of Bible verses like Ephesians 1:7, which reads, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
The first two verses and the chorus feel autobiographical. Like David wrote in the Psalms, the song alternates from reflecting on the story of transformation that the Gospel has worked to words of praise and worship. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 about the incredible transformation Christ makes in a person’s life. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
However, my favorite part of the song is the bridge, as it includes words that speak powerfully to a former hamster-wheel-rider. The bridge states:
“It’s never been about performance, perfection
Or striving for acceptance
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood
It’s never been about deserving or earning”
The bridge echoes the words of Ephesians 2:8-9. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
While David Funk’s vocal lead out on “The Blood,” the song credits three co-writers - Dante Bowe, Mitch Wong, and Jenn Johnson. In a video posted on Bethel Music’s Facebook page, Wong reflects on the theological significance behind “The Blood.”
“(The bridge) - it’s my favorite part of the song. It’s like a teaching moment to the church. ‘It’s never been about performance or perfection. It’s only the blood of Jesus that redeems us.’ So, it’s combating that teaching that we have to strive to become perfect to be accepted by God - it’s just not true. The only thing that makes us right with God is the blood.” -Mitch Wong
We live in a performative era. When we can all broadcast our thoughts or experiences to the world at a moment’s notice, there will be a pressure to perform and an expectation of being better than you actually are. This era exhausts us body and soul because we cannot sustain the show.
Instead, the Gospel offers us a better way. As we trust in Jesus and the power of His blood shed for our forgiveness, we find the freedom to be more honest with God and others. We are set free from faking it and sustaining the show.
Though he lived over a hundred years before any of this technology was introduced, Charles Spurgeon spoke powerfully to the connection between mental health and the blood of Jesus.
“I find no better cure for that depression than to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and seek to realize afresh the power of the peace-speaking blood of Jesus, and His infinite love in dying upon the cross to put away all my transgressions.”
We are made right with the world, and our hope for the future is renewed by the blood of Jesus. We don’t have to strive for our worthiness - we embrace it as a gift given and declared by God over us, just as the Father declared it over the Son in the Jordan River during his baptism.
If you’re weary from hustling for the approval of others or seeking to achieve status with God, “The Blood” by David Funk is good news - a reminder that Jesus offers us rest for our bodies and souls. With our salvation through the blood of Jesus, we have nothing to prove and nothing to lose!
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps people transform difficult circumstances into places where they can thrive. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and loves watching movies with his wife and three kids. You can begin Scott’s life-changing project, The 21 Day Gratitude Challenge, today.
