Israel Houghton Opens Up About Living Behind a Mask and Discovering God's Love
Grammy-award-winning worship artist Israel Houghton released his new single this week. He says "Reckless Love" is about God faithfully pursuing him despite his shame and weakness.
"Reckless Love" is the first single Houghton's released since finalizing a painful divorce and remarrying. The singer opened up about the guilt he's been carrying for years.
"It's torment to look in the mirror, and not recognize the man in the reflection. How amazing would it be to love someone through their honest and ugly moments?! It takes a journey to work off the mask to become authentic and whole. Honesty is the door to finding a love that brings an identity found only in Christ," he said in an Instagram post.
Houghton also said the church hasn't been a safe place for people to be transparent and open up about what's really going on.
"The risk of being honest can lead to people ostracizing you. It's easier to cling to the persona, the stage, the reputation that people want to see. But in my weakness, my God is strong. When I was reckless, His reckless love chased me down and brought healing that I never experienced."
Houghton believes now is the time to take the mask off. He also hopes others learn how to receive God's love and for the church to be a place where the broken can bring their guilt and shame.
"You know how certain songs come with their own set of reverb so to speak? This is one of those songs for me. It speaks to the very fabric of my life. Past, present & future. The visuals that this song paints, God's furious reckless unstoppable love, grace, redemption & unrelenting mercy for us. Wow!" he said.
Click below to get a sneak peak of the song:
