The Flame

They told me God was waiting
With a fire and a fury
That the wages of my wandering
Was pain beyond enduring
But I ran away regardless
Lived my life the way I wanted
Never looked back at the doorway
Now I'm haunted, God I'm haunted

'Cause I've seen the garbage burning
In the valley down below
And I know now what they meant
When they said it burns your soul

It's not a fire on your skin
It's the fire deep within
It's the love you walked away from
Burning holes where peace had been
It's the door that won't stop knocking
When there's no one left to call
That's the flame, that's the flame
That's the only hell at all

I came home and found it empty
Every light that used to guide me
Gone before I thought to tell them
How I needed them beside me
Now the sorrow has no bottom
And the aching has no ceiling
And I'd trade a thousand lifetimes
For one moment of that feeling

God is not a tyrant
God is not a threat
He's the Father on the porch
Who hasn't given up on you yet
So don't come home from fear
Come home because you're tired of being cold
Come home because love is the only thing
That satisfies the soul

It's not a fire on your skin
It's the fire deep within
It's the love you almost missed out on
The embrace that lets you breathe again
It's the door still standing open
It's His arms stretched wide and tall
That's the flame, that's the flame
That's the only truth at all

Come for love
Not for fear
Come because you need to know
That someone sees you here
Come because you're burning
For something you can't name
God is love
God is love
He is the only flame