Exegeting the Hymns #58 - Jesus is Mine

Jesus is Mine
w/m - Matt Merker, Jordan Kauflin, Keith Getty

Fade, fade, each earthly joy
Jesus is mine
Stronger than fleeting hopes
Jesus is mine
Dark is the wilderness
Earth has no resting place
Jesus alone can bless
Jesus is mine
 
In days of fragile peace
Jesus is mine
Through tearful nights of grief
Jesus is mine
His voice commands the storm
His presence stills my soul
He will sustain my hope
Jesus is mine
 
Jesus is mine
Jesus is mine
When all else fails, He still remains
Jesus is mine
 
When on that final day
Jesus is mine
Before his radiant face
Jesus is mine
Safe in his arms I’ll cling
Praising my Savior King
Forevermore I’ll sing
Jesus is mine

This is a brand new song, but my guess is, you’ll never hear it on the radio. There’s very little money to be made from a simple, theological song like this. However it did catch my eye because of the powerhouse writing team that composed it, Matt Merker (He Will Hold Me Fast), Jordan Kauflin (All I Have is Christ), and Keith Getty (In Christ Alone). Those are three of the best modern hymns penned and had not the Newsboys recorded In Christ Alone, the majority of churches would have never heard any of them.

In the midst of a torrent of sloppily written, vague, but commercial songs given to the church today, once in a while, true timeless gems emerge, if you know where to look for them. This is one of those songs.

Fade, fade, each earthly joy. Jesus is mine. What a convicting way to start a song.  While most songs call for “mountains to be moved” and “trials to be taken out of our way” so we can live our “best life now”, this one calls for our “joys” to fade. I am convicted just typing this as to all the earthly joys that will burn up as “wood, hay, and stubble” (1 Corinthians 13:12). No man can serve two masters, and too often I am serving myself a plate of the pleasures of this life, when I need to remember that “All I have is Christ”. Stronger than fleeting hopes. Jesus is mine. We put so much of our hope in things that are passing away, but Jesus is the “Blessed assurance”.  

Dark is the wilderness. Earth has no resting place. Jesus alone can bless. Jesus is mine. Jesus told a scribe who asked to follow Him that, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” There is a cost to following Jesus. The Hyper-grace movement would have us believe that we just need to say a prayer and walk an aisle and we’ve fulfilled the requirement of a disciple, but Jesus said, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).  

In days of fragile peace, Jesus is mine. Turn on the news. Fighting is not just in the Middle East, but in the halls of Congress, in front of cake shops, and even in churches. Hearing of a service disrupted by gunfire would not surprise any of us anymore, but our God is sovereign over all. He is the one who can bring true peace. Through tearful nights of grief, Jesus is mine. Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation, but He also told us that we should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. If Jesus truly is mine, then even though "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because He is with me.”  

His voice commands the storm, His presence stills my soul, He will sustain my hope. Jesus is mine. Our hope is only as strong as the object of that hope. If our hope is in the one who controls every molecule in the universe, our soul can find rest. He doesn’t promise that there will be no storms, but does promise that it will be used for our good, and that He will be with us in that storm.

When all else fails, He still remains, Jesus is mine. My prayer for myself, my family, my church, and for all of God’s people is that we learn to rely on Christ before we try all else. Of course, we can turn to Jesus when all else fails, but shouldn’t we run into His arms first? He was here before all things, and while all things fade away, He will always be God.

When on that final day, Jesus is mine. Before his radiant face, Jesus is mine. What a blessing and comfort it will be to know we have bowed the knee to our Lord on this side of heaven! While most will tremble in fear, we can know that in Christ, we are home and stand as holy because of the work of Jesus. Safe in his arms I’ll cling, praising my Savior King. Forevermore I’ll sing: Jesus is mine. If you don’t know Jesus as Savior, Lord, and friend, this reality can be yours if you simply repent of your sins and trust in Jesus today. He paid the price for our salvation that would take us an eternity in hell to pay. Instead of the pleasures of this world you may be fighting to win, true joy is found when you can say, “Jesus is mine!”

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