Give Me Jesus
- Jill Miller
- May 18, 2016
- 2 min read
Blog – 5-18-16
We live in a marketplace world, where specials run out and deals are only good for a short period of time. We have the mindset of “better get it while you can.”
God’s love is not like that. It’s never ending. There’s no “special” on his grace. It’s a deal that never runs out. It’s the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is a god of abundance. The bigger your faith, the bigger the bonus!
Our access to grace is limited only by our faith.
I recently ran across an old hymn I had all but forgotten that is a perfect picture of people who believed in all access grace. Give Me Jesus was written as an African-American spiritual, and it was written during the time of slavery in the United States. The lyrics are incredibly simple, yet incredibly poignant:
In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus
Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all of this world, Give me Jesus.
When I am alone, When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus.
When I come to die, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus.
As a songwriter, I marvel at the simplicity yet the tremendous power in these words. It’s a beautiful picture of how less is more. It also strikes me to my very core to think that it was written by people who were literally stripped of human dignity, had no earthly possessions, nothing to claim of worldly value…yet they had tremendous faith. They knew in the end they had everything they really needed, Jesus. In Him alone is where their hope was found.
The other thing that this stirs in me is that we have as much access to Jesus as we have faith to believe and receive. Jesus never runs out of resources like love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, hope. The things we long for He has in generous, unending supply, unlike the quick-fix deals of the world. We simply need to open our hearts and receive.
The things of the world will come and go, but there is peace knowing we have all we’ll ever need in Jesus.
I’ve recorded the song for those of you who have never heard it. I invite you to close your eyes as you listen to the simple truth found in these simple words. I pray the truth that is held in its humble lyrics will penetrate your heart and help you realize that when all is said and done, your heart’s cry needs to simply be, “Give me Jesus.”
Hugs,
~Jill
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