U2 Song: "Red Flag Day"

“Red Flag Day” sets its scene on a dangerous beach. The red flag is flying, warning swimmers to stay out of the water. Yet Bono sings an invitation: “Baby, let’s get in the water.” It’s risky. The waves can pull you under. The currents are unpredictable. But the risk is exactly the point.

Real love, the kind God shows to us, is never risk-free. Scripture tells us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s love was not cautious. It was self-giving, costly, and dangerous. The cross was not a safe choice. It was an act of love that entered directly into pain, rejection, and death.

The song’s sensual tone is not the heart of the message. What matters is the posture: a willingness to step off the sand into rough waters for the sake of another. Bono turns the metaphor outward when he sings of those “lost in the sea last night.” Here, love is not simply romantic daring; it is solidarity with the vulnerable. It is the recognition that the same waters that thrill some are deadly to others. The “red flag” becomes a call not to avoid the danger but to meet people in it.

And this includes those whose danger is not just metaphorical but painfully real. All over the world, refugees flee from war, persecution, and poverty. They cross seas in unsafe boats, walk for miles in the heat, and sleep under makeshift shelters. Too many never arrive. Loving like Christ means stepping into those realities, refusing to look away, and taking risks to welcome, shelter, and defend them.

Jesus often led his disciples into risky places. He touched lepers, spoke with Samaritans, confronted the powerful, and walked straight into Jerusalem knowing what awaited him. He told his followers that those who wanted to save their lives would lose them, and that the greatest among them would be servants of all. Real love costs. It may mean danger, discomfort, or sacrifice. It may mean giving up our safety so someone else can have theirs.

“Today we can’t afford to be afraid of what we fear,” Bono sings. That is the challenge for anyone who wants to love like Christ. The red flags in life, the signs telling us “keep away, it’s dangerous”, are often exactly where love is most needed. To follow Jesus is to walk toward those flags, not away from them.

Paradise, the song reminds us, is a place you can’t see when it’s yours. The love of God is like that. You only begin to grasp it when you step out of safety, into the surf, and find that He is there in the waves.