“I wanna love you,
But something’s pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
And Judas is the demon I cling to, I cling to.”

 

Maybe the Catholic Church is right when they suggest she is just being disrespectful (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/04/19/lady-gagas-new-song-judas-causes-holy-week-uproar/).  However, I am inclined toward grace, so I hope what she meant when she penned these words is something like this: “Oh, Jesus, I know you are the last, best hope. I know you are the one I need. Still, something in me moves me to cling to Judas instead.” If so, Lady Gaga is in the company of many: partially blind people catching a glimpse of heaven while clinging tightly to the thrills of hell.

 

Either way, I am reminded of what our Lord Jesus said about the people of Jerusalem as he made his way to the Holy City (Luke 13:34):

 

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

 

We all know that the level of hostility generated by the good citizens of Jerusalem toward the Savior rises far above that offered by Lady Gaga. We also know Jesus knew what they were about to do to him. Still the Lord’s heart was moved to compassion on their behalf. He is thinking no differently where Lady Gaga is concerned. He loves her. His Father loves her. The Holy Spirit loves her.  In fact, the Apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote (2 Peter 3:9),

 

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

 

And just so his intentions were clear, he followed that with this (2 Peter 3:10),

 

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

 

Together they mean one thing: while the Lord is very patient as he awaits people to flee the kingdom of darkness and run into his waiting arms, his patience will not last forever. It will not last forever in the cosmic sense and it will not last forever in the cause of Christ for one lost person. Like Lady Gaga, there are precious souls all around us. Let’s stop complaining about their antics and attitudes and start leading them via love and service to the Messiah.