Give me Jesus

Songs about heaven have always made me emotional, and until recently, I couldn’t exactly understand why.

The weekend after my grandmother’s passing, we sang “Give me Jesus” at church. As soon as we got to the third verse that says,

“When I come to die, oh, when I come to die, oh, when I come to die… Give me Jesus,”

I completely lost my composure. I finally understood why I was emotional about Heaven. It’s so simple. Jesus is there. Where we can see Him and feel Him and talk to Him. Here on earth, while we can see His works, and feel His spirit, and pray to Him, in heaven, Jesus and the Father will be physically present. That’s why I get so emotional. I can’t wait to be with Jesus.

This realization has sent me on a journey of sorts about heaven and how it is described in the Bible. John was given a vision on the island of Patmos about the throne room, and this is what he saw:

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures… (Revelation 4:6b) Day and night they never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come.”

John saw these creatures who surrounded the throne of God, who were in the Lord’s presence, and they never stopped praising Him. Day and night, they were praising Him. I have heard it explained that they did this because, in the Lord’s presence, we are constantly being reminded of a new facet of His perfect character and constantly being reminded of His holiness. Give me Jesus. 

Another scripture in which Heaven is described is 2 Corinthians 5:8, which states:

“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at Home with the Lord.”

I find it interesting that this verse doesn’t just say “at home.” Because I think oftentimes we think about heaven as it is described as having many mansions and streets of gold. I mean, just being “at home” would be enough with many mansions and streets of gold, right?! But, it says “at home WITH THE LORD.” Because being with Him is better than any mansion or street of gold. Those in the Bible who were in his presence literally left GLOWING. He is so bright and holy and perfect that being in His presence is what we would prefer, not just being “at Home.” Give me Jesus. 

One last verse I want to point out is Philippians 4:20:

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…”

Now, this Savior that we are eagerly waiting for has already come and paid the price for our sins and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us and lead us and guide us. Yet, it says we EAGERLY AWAIT for this Savior to return and take us to where we belong. Where our citizenship lies. This earth is not our home. But again, it’s not the “big, big house with lots and lots of rooms” that we should be eagerly awaiting. It’s the Savior. Give me Jesus. 

So here on earth, I pray we are eagerly waiting and actively pursuing our Savior until we get to meet Him in person in Heaven. I pray we are following the Holy Spirit’s lead until we get to praise Him in the throne room. I pray that we never forget His goodness and always prefer to be with Him, not just prefer the big mansion or what He can do for us. 

Here are the rest of the lyrics of that beautiful hymn, “Give me Jesus.” I hope that this is the cry of all of our hearts today. 

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

And when I am alone
Oh, and when I am alone
And when I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

And when I come to die
Oh, and when I come to die
And when I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world

You can have all this world
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

(Give Me Jesus, Fernando Ortega)

Kristie Brothers
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#kristiebrothersblogs