Photo by Timothy Eberly
UPPERROOM is a church-based band, much with the same structure as Hillsong, Elevation Worship, and Bethel Music. Their church of the same name is based in Dallas, Texas.
They released 19 works, including:
- God You Are (2014)
- Live from Upper Room (2016)
- Made for More (2016)
- Center of Your Love (EP, 2017)
- Moments (2018)
- Moments II (2018)
- Moments: Color 003 (2019)
- Moments: Design 004 (EP, 2019)
- To The One (2019)
- Santo Espíritu (Te Amamos) (2020)
- Land of the Living (2020)
- Arbor (2021)
- Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
- The Turning (2022)
- Moments: Image 005 (2022)
- Moments: Light 006 (2022)
- Moments: Near 007 (2022)
- Moments: The Vow (Live) (2022)
- Moments: 010 (Live) (2022)
Check out my other UPPERROOM reviews.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Jesus is UPPERROOM’s #1 priority, with all other wants, desires, and things woefully inadequate. Let the worldly drink up the world and lose their soul. UPPERROOM will inherit eternal life.
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Bridge essentially repeats the same four-line phrase four times in a row. They do Bridge again later, except the final line has additional repeats.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song is in accord with Scripture.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
I don’t want anything but You
You’re more than every dream come true
All of the things I thought I wanted
Don’t come close to knowing You
UPPERROOM considers all other pursuits rubbish compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8-10).
Now that I’m Yours and You are mine
Describes UPPERROOM’s connected, personal relationship they have with Jesus (Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, John 15:1-11, and Romans 11:16-24).
Our love is the secret that I find
The veil that prevented UPPERROOM from seeing Christ has been removed (2 Kings 6:17, Matthew 13:16-17, Luke 24:31, John 3:3, John 9:39, Acts 26:12-18, 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, and Ephesians 1:18).
I’ll spend forever in the pleasure
I’ve found looking in Your eyes
UPPERROOM will spend eternity with Jesus (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).
[Chorus]
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
You can have all this world
Eerily similar to the Chorus of Jeremy Camp’s song Give Me Jesus, though sung a bit differently. Yet, the same commentary applies. Lines 1 and 2 point us back to Verse 1, lines 1-4. Lines 3 and 4 remind us that it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world, yet forfeits his soul (Matthew 16:24-27 and Mark 8:34-38).
[Verse 2]
More than silver, more than gold
You are the treasure that I hold
The Son of Man is more precious than gold and earthly treasure. This is elegantly and succinctly captured in the Pearl of Great Price described in Matthew 13:45-46. Also, see Jesus’ commentary on the cost of following Him in Luke 14:25-33.
Now that I’ve tastеd of Your goodness
Nothing else will satisfy
See Verse 1, lines 1-4.
[Post-Chorus]
Just give me Jesus
I only want Jesus
I only want Jesus
I only want Jesus
See Chorus, line 1.
[Bridge]
I don’t want anyone else
I don’t need anything else
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
See Verse 1, lines 1-4.
I don’t want anyone else
I don’t need anything else
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
I don’t want anyone else
I don’t need anything else
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
I don’t want anyone else
And I don’t need anything else
‘Cause You are my one thing
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
You are my one thing
Repeats lines 1-4 either in whole or in part.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Unbelievers should easily conclude three things from these lyrics written in plain English:
- This song is about Jesus.
- Jesus is more important than anyone or anything else.
- If unbelievers want this world, they can have it.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
Jesus.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
UPPERROOM’s Give Me Jesus is about Jesus. Period. He is better than anything else we could be doing. Spend time with Him. Get to know Him better. Even unbelievers will know what this song is about.
I highly recommend this song for corporate worship, though perhaps with one fewer Bridge and Chorus.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Give Me Jesus (listen to the song)
Artist: UPPERROOM (Feat. Abbie Gamboa)
Album: Love Note
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2021
Duration: 8:30
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2021 UR Creative (BMI) Oscar Daniel Gamboa Publishing (BMI) Gabriel Gamboa Publishing Designee (BMI) Abbie Gamboa Publishing (BMI) Avers Publishing (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Comments
Jewel Shindler
I heard this song at my church and had a hard time when the woman singing with great passion sang about how she didn’t need anyone else or anything else. She had on a wedding ring. I presume she has family and friends. I have a hard time when pastors preach about how all you need is Jesus. It is not good for man to be alone. We need Jesus but we also need other people. Andrew Brunson, when he was in prison said that he didn’t feel God close to him. No one can live life alone with only Jesus. We all need community as well. This is true for me, since I am single and have been alone most of my life. Jesus isn’t enough, but He could be. But I don’t think He made us to not need others. Jesus loves us and shares us with the others in our lives.
The song was upsetting to me. It seemed very shallow.
Steve Barhydt
Jewel,
I am curious as to what your thoughts are on the following passages…
Psalm 73:25 (KJV)
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is NONE UPON EARTH THAT I DESIRE beside thee.
Luke 14:25 (KJV)
If any man come to me, and HATE not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Philippians 3-8-10 (KJV)
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do COUNT THEM BUT DUNG, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
In each of these passages, the Holy Spirit chose to use extremely strong language to the point of seemingly contradicting other scriptures ( Ephesians 5:25-29, Proverbs 13:24, Matthew 22:39)
Obviously, God does not contradict Himself, so there must be something deeper at play here.
An article from GotQuestions.Com expresses this apparent discrepancy very well…https://www.gotquestions.org/hate-father-mother.html (I quote only a section of the article below, I suggest anyone who questions the legitimacy of this song read the rest of the article)
**************************Begin Quote*******************
In order to be a disciple, we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. Following Jesus requires commitment and faithfulness, even if our parents choose not to follow the Lord. If and when we are faced with the painful choice of loyalty to family versus loyalty to Jesus, we must choose Jesus. Even if our family members disown us—or worse—for being Christians, we must follow Christ. It is in this sense that we are “hating” our family. Jesus’ command to “hate father and mother” requires us to prioritize our relationship with Jesus over our relationship with parents, siblings, and other family members.
**************************End Quote*******************
In the passage in Philippians, Paul starts out by talking about his heritage (i.e. his family), his education, even his own righteousness (which he said was ‘blameless’). All he counts a ‘loss for Christ’ (Phil. 3:4-7)
He goes on to say that ‘I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’ to the point of calling all these things ‘dung’.
Why?
‘that I may win Christ’ (Phil. 3:8)
‘And be found in him’ (Phil. 3:9)
‘That I may know him’ (Phil. 3:10)
Paul understood that, compared to Jesus; family, fame, and fortune MUST take a second place.
That’s what this song is meaning. It’s not about not ‘needing’ others but rather putting Jesus at the very forefront of our lives and, if necessary, forsaking others to follow Him.
Jewel Shindler
God also said it is not good for man to be alone. Ps 68:6 God puts the lonely in families. I am a single person who lives a very solitary life. God would have there be balance. There are other scriptures referring to community. Not to forsake gathering together. The song seems to be saying that we don’t need anything else, but I believe we do. We need each other as well. Jewel
Steve Barhydt
Jewel,
My last paragraph from my previous post says…
********************Begin Quote**********************
That’s what this song is meaning. It’s not about not ‘needing’ others but rather putting Jesus at the very forefront of our lives and, if necessary, forsaking others to follow Him.
*********************End Quote************************
No one, not Vince, not myself, and certainly not the writers and singers of this song are questioning the value in community.
If you watch the video of this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEenBiBh91A&ab_channel=UPPERROOM), you will see that she is signing it a church congregation with about a hundred people there (my estimation). There are 6-10 people on the stage with her.
Of course we need other people!
You say ‘The song seems to be saying that we don’t need anything else’
I would respond by saying that the whole context of the song pivots around the last two phrases of the chorus (emphasis mine)
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
You can have all this world
More than silver, more than gold
You are the treasure that I hold
NOW THAT I’VE TASTЕD OF YOUR GOODNESS
NOTHING ELSE WILL SATISFY
No earthly relationship or anything else can compare to the wonder and beauty of knowing Jesus. Nothing else will satisfy!
This does not take anything away from those earthly relationships. They just don’t measure up to Him.
All of that said, this is just a song; its meaning and its value can be debated.
You, however, are a child of God and, although I don’t know you, as my sister in Christ, I love you.
I believe that the personal pain that you feel in your isolation has skewed the true meaning of this song in your mind. That is understandable.
I am truly sorry that you are ‘a single person who lives a very solitary life’ I earnestly pray that God sends you a community (even if it’s only one person) where you can find value, solace, and hope. Never forget that you are loved.
God bless,
Steve
Raina
As it’s been said, this song is theologically shallow and able to be substituted for a secular love song simply by replacing the word “Jesus.” But there are furthermore two things that make it unrecommendable by me as a song to be sung in corporate worship.
First, aside from mentioning God’s “goodness” it does not sing of the attributes and character of God. Steve above brought up Psalm 63 as an example of biblical praise of our Maker and Savior, and this psalm – as the other praises in Scripture – is filled with exhortations to WHO God is – His character, His works, His promises, His attributes.
…beholding YOUR POWER and GLORY (Ps 63:2); because YOUR STEADFAST LOVE is better than life (verse 3); for YOU HAVE BEEN MY HELP, and IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS (verse 7); YOUR RIGHT HAND UPHOLDS me (verse 8)… What in “Give me Jesus” is praising our Lord aside from mentioning His goodness? We are proclaiming Him as “my one thing” that is more and better than everything else with nothing on who He actually is, what He has promised, what great works He has done, what He is like. In the style and language of a secular love song. And if you can simply take His name out and the ENTIRE song can then refer to a secular lover, something has gone wrong.
Second, the lyrics subtly distort the relationship between God and the believer, and truth about our Lord.
“Now that I’m Yours and You are mine
Our love is the secret that I find
I’ll spend forever in the pleasure
I found looking in Your eyes”
This verse brings God’s perfect, steadfast, gracious, merciful love that we do not deserve down, and raises our imperfect, weak and feeble love up, to have them marry into this notion that is “our love” (something of a 50/50 in following “I’m Yours and You are mine”). Then there is nothing about God choosing us and the Father gifting the believer to the Son (John 6:44), but instead a shallow romantic-lover allegory: “the pleasure I found looking in Your eyes.” This carries a dangerous theology which cheapens God’s love. We, of weak love, of weak faith, are wholly dependent on His love, and His strengthening of our faith, love and understanding through His Holy Spirit. And our love and faith is strengthened IN our worship when we recall who our Lord is and His wonderful, holy and glorious attributes, works and promises.
Steve Barhydt
Raina,
I’m not going to spend more time countering the weak ‘able to be substituted for a secular love song simply by replacing the word “Jesus”’ argument as I have already done so in my Apr 28.2023 | 03:11 pm comment.
I will, however, address the two points that you bring up…
You say ‘aside from mentioning God’s “goodness” it does not sing of the attributes and character of God.’ as if the goodness of God is an insufficient reason to praise Him.
First, I don’t need a litany of reasons to worship God. The fact that He is God is sufficient.
The fact that some of the Psalms go into greater detail than others is irrelevant since some of those other Psalms say very little of these things.
Psalm 149 (KJV) says virtually nothing about the ‘attributes and character of God’
149 Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm 150 (KJV) mentions only His ‘Greatness’
150 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
Please remember that each Psalm is a complete song in and of itself. If the Holy Spirit did not choose to inspire the writer of Psalm 149 and 150 to include a long list of WHY we should praise the Lord (which He didn’t) ; and we are using the Psalms as a guideline for today’s songwriters (and we should); then is it correct to castigate a songwriter today for not doing so? The answer, of course, is ‘No.’
Secondly, the ‘goodness of God’ is no small issue.
Psalm 107 is all about the goodness of God and the benefits that His goodness brings. Over and over in this psalm, men are encouraged to ‘praise the Lord for His goodness’ (Psalm 107:8, Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, Psalm 107:31).
From this Psalm, I believe that His goodness encapsulates all that is so wonderful about our God.
It’s a common, but I believe ill-placed, criticism to complain about something a song doesn’t have.
As to your second point, you say ‘This verse brings God’s perfect, steadfast, gracious, merciful love that we do not deserve down, and raises our imperfect, weak and feeble love up, to have them marry into this notion that is “our love”’
I say that God brought His love down to raise us up.
Romans 5:8 (KJV) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And it is ‘our love’ (i.e. shared between God and us)
I John 4:10 (KJV) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I John 4:19 (KJV) We LOVE HIM, because he first LOVED US. (emphasis mine)
This is not ‘a dangerous theology which cheapens God’s love’, it’s central to the message of the Gospel. A personal repentance of our sins (Acts 2:38, John 3:16-18, Romans 10:9-10) is the only way to get to Heaven and a personal relationship with God is one of the results if our salvation (Gal. 2:20, 1 John 3:2, Eph. 3:17, Col. 1:27)
Furthermore, this song is from the perspective of someone after ‘God choosing us and the Father gifting the believer to the Son.’ Again, just because the songwriter chooses not to give an explanation of this does not take away value of the song.
Where you see ‘a shallow romantic-lover allegory’, I see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and Jesus telling Martha that ‘one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’ Luke10:42 (KJV)
Ironically, your last statement ‘We, of weak love, of weak faith, are wholly dependent on His love, and His strengthening of our faith, love and understanding through His Holy Spirit. And our love and faith is strengthened IN our worship when we recall who our Lord is and His wonderful, holy and glorious attributes, works and promises’ is exactly what I experience and feel when hearing or singing this song.
Heather
My issue with this song is that it discounts the value of human relationships to the lives of believers. “I don’t want anyone else, I don’t need anything else” — really? Are we called to cloister ourselves, have no love or connection to other humans, including the body of Christ? This is very close to what Paul tells us NOT to say, the hand should not say to the foot, “I have no need of you.”
I understand if this song is meant salvifically — like, “I don’t need any other Savior or any other Messiah or any other Mediator.” On that level it could be theologically sound. But to say I don’t want my husband in my life or need any human relationships, that just feels like hyperspirituality and it’s not a really the way God designed us, let alone a very honest thing to sing. Most of us do want other people in our lives aside from just Jesus and following Him would be very lonely if we had no one else on this journey with us. Adam had full fellowship with God in the garden and it is written that his face was fallen, and God said it was not good for man to be alone.
Vince Wright
Heather,
Thank you for your comments!
I see this similarly to Jesus’ statements towards the end of Luke 14 where He calls for us to hate our family, friends, and ourselves so that we can follow Him. Does that mean Jesus wants us to show animosity towards our family? Of course not! He means “to love less”. That is, our love for God should take precedence over our love for family.
Also, take a look at Philippians 3:8, which I quoted as part of my commentary:
“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”
Does that mean that, as you said, “Are we called to cloister ourselves, have no love or connection to other humans, including the body of Christ?” That isn’t Paul’s point. It is that all other pursuits woefully pale in comparison to knowing Christ.
Finally, I’m recently become aware that words like “all”, “anyone”, or “anything” does not always literally mean “every single person” or “all cistumstances always” in Scripture. Take a look at https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/does-all-ever-mean-all-in-scripture.html.
-Vince Wright
Steve Barhydt
Stephen,
Just as ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ so a song ‘sung in a seductive/breathy way that, in its tone, speaks to a romantic, lusting love’ must be in ‘the ear of the listener.’
I had not heard this song before today, but I find absolutely nothing ‘seductive’ about the way that it is sung.
It is a worship song and, as such, slower and more reflective.
It is a passionate song, but passion does not automatically equate with ‘romantic, lusting love’
The Bible is filled with verses that describe a longing for God or passion for God. Here’s just a few of them…
Psa 63:1-8 (ESV)
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psa 73:23-26 (ESV) (Emphasis mine)
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And THERE IS NOTHING ON EARTH I DESIRE BESIDES YOU.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psa 84:2 (ESV)
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Isa 26:9 (ESV)
My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
When Psa 73:25 says ‘Whom have I in heaven but you? And THERE IS NOTHING ON EARTH I DESIRE BESIDES YOU’ that sounds a lot like the bridge of this song
‘I don’t want anyone else
I don’t need anything else
You are my one thing’
It is important to realize that the Bible is, in fact, a love story.
From Genesis to Revelations, it describes the incredible love of God for an undeserving people.
Israel is referred to as the (often wayward) wife of God (Ezekiel 16:1-63, Isaiah 54:1-17, Hosea 1-3)
The Church is the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:22-32, 2 Cor. 11:2, Rev. 19:6-10, Rev. 21:9, Rev. 22;17)
While these, and many other verses, do not describe fleshly intimacy, they definitely indicate that God desires a deep level of intimacy with us and that we should do the same.
As to your opinion that ‘If one were to remove Jesus and put any other name or object in there, it would still work’ is a common but, in my opinion, very weak argument against many songs in Contemporary Christian Music.
My wife’s name is Pat. I can, and often do, say ‘I love Pat!’ (Yes, even after 42 years of marriage, I still love her 😊)
My dog’s name is Dobby. I can also say ‘I love Dobby!’
I can also say, ‘I love pizza!’ (From the size of my waist band, trust me, this is true!)
The changing of the phrase ‘I love…’ from my wife to my dog to my supper does not change my love for my wife. Now, of course, I love my wife more than I love my dog or my pizza; and I love her in a whole different realm.
I can similarly say ‘I love Jesus!’ without taking anything away from the other potential objects of my love.
The classic hymn, ‘In the Garden’ by C. Austin Miles could be easily turned into a human love song. That doesn’t take away from the beauty of the song nor does it remove the appropriateness of us signing it in a congregational setting. https://hymnary.org/text/i_come_to_the_garden_alone
In summary,
I agree with your first statement that, with words substituted, it could be about a human lover as easily as about our Lord. I just don’t think that it matters because it does say ‘Jesus’.
I completely disagree with your second statement that the tone is purposefully sung in a way to be suggestive of ‘romantic, lusting love’. This is purely subjective on your part and insinuates motive on the part of the artist.
Your proposition that ‘the way the song is being sung… plays as much into the listener’s experience as reading the lyrics’ presupposes that there is something inherently wrong with how it’s being sung.
Where you hear ‘seduction’, I hear ‘devotion.’
Where you hear ‘breathy’, I hear ‘heartfelt worship’.
Where you hear ‘lusting’, I hear ‘longing’.
If you want to talk about ‘production value or the way the song is being sung’, I would strongly suggest that you watch the official live version video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEenBiBh91A
In it, the artist, Abbie Gamboa, is in a church service, singing while on her knees, with her hands raised in worship. At times she bows all the way to the floor. These are hardly the actions of a seductress.
Although I am defending this song, both in its lyrical content and the manner in which UPPERROOM performs it, if it makes you uncomfortable, don’t sing it. I would never have someone violate their conscience for the sake of a song.
However, it is unfair to ascribe an impure motive to this sister in Christ simply because you do not like the way she sings the song.
Stephen
My issue with this song is the fact that aside from saying Jesus, this song could be about anything and anyone. It’s sung in a seductive/breathy way that, in its tone, speaks to a romantic, lusting love rather than the respect and love one should take for our Lord. If one were to remove Jesus and put any other name or object in there, it would still work.
I know this website isn’t about the production value or the way the song is being sung, but I think that plays as much into the listener’s experience as reading the lyrics. I honestly find this song disturbing.
Ashlyn
I have to disagree with you on this one! I think this song is pretty shallow, and there are other songs that better communicate what they are trying to say. Mainly, I find that the first verse could easily be heard as a secular love song than as a worship song to the Lord. The repetitiveness is also a bit much to me, and I think that the gospel could be better communicated. UPPERROOM has some great songs, but this is not my favorite.
Vince Wright
Ashlyn,
Thank you for your comments!
First, I don’t rate a song’s message, Biblical accuracy, outsider interpretation, or inherent glorification of God based on its shallowness/depth. That’s what the theological depth rating is for! This one will earn the common “milk” rating once I get a chance to update the Song Review Index page.
Second, what do you mean by “better”? Do you mean “not as shallow”? If so, then yes, of course! That doesn’t make this a bad song nor does it make it unworthy of use within corporate worship, even if you and I would prefer an equivalent song that has more theological depth.
Third, while the first Verse could be understood as a secular love song, this would also be like saying that Jesus words “Do not judge” in Matthew 7:1 could be understood as a blanketed abolishment of judging others, taking His words out of context of everything He had to say on the matter regarding “lest you be judged” and the whole deal with the plank/speck in one’s eye that points to hypocritical judgment. We should understand Verse 1 in the context of Chorus, which clarifies what the artist means by “You”. The artist even explicitly used the name of Jesus, which, to my delight, has become more common in recent reviews.
Fourth, I already addressed the repetitiveness in my commentary within section 1 and the conclusion to my review.
Fifth, I’ve noticed you haven’t provided any Scripture to support your comments.
Finally, I don’t expect all Christian songs to communicate the Gospel. The Gospel is central to the Christian faith; However, the Psalms are rich with praise and adoration towards God without all the elements of the Gospel. For example, Psalm 23 deeply and richly communicates dependence on God. If a song were to be written based on it, should it be criticized because it doesn’t contain the cross and Christ crucified? Of course not.
-Vince Wright
Ashlyn
Vince,
I am just now seeing your reply. Thank you for taking your time to respond to my comment! I appreciate the time and effort you put into your blog.
I think that I tend to personally prefer more theologically deep songs because I am naturally more of a thinker than a feeler. I know that God has created us with emotions, and we are to worship in spirit and in truth, but it is easy for me to lean more heavily towards truth than spirit! This song seems to lean more towards emotion, hence my apprehension. I’m working on finding the balance!
Your third point makes sense — context should determine meaning. I do wonder though about someone hearing only this verse on the radio and skipping onto the next station; they would not understand that Jesus is our ultimate desire. But in a corporate worship setting, this would be understood as it was supposed to be.
I don’t think I can really use any scripture to back my previous points as they are all opinions. However, with regards to the line “our love is the secret that I find” — isn’t God the one who finds us? (John 6:44) We must believe and seek him, but it is God who reveals himself to us and enables us to see him. Correct me if I’m misunderstanding!
I really appreciate your final point as well, I had never really thought of it that way!
Again, thank you for your response!
Ashlyn
Vince Wright
Ashlyn,
I am glad to help!
I’m with you concerning theological depth vs. emotion. However, I also have to remind myself that we are not just rational beings. We are emotional beings who want to experience God.
Regarding John 6:44, I don’t think this song is disagreeing with this. For all of us, there is a point at which we did not know Christ and another when we found Him. Yes, we can’t come unless the Father first draws. But, it’s also true that He can be found.
-Vince Wright
Ernest Sim
I struggle to understand who I am singing this to, it seems like I’m proclaiming this to someone and at some point to someone with authority to have all this world.
To me it doesn’t seem like I’m singing this to Jesus since I’m literally asking whoever I’m singing to give me Jesus. But if we’re asking God to give me Jesus it feels kinda weird because he already gave us Jesus, and we already have Jesus.
So if not Jesus or God God, who am I singing this to?