Jesus Loves Me
Of all the songs that excite us as children, it is the song entitled, “Jesus Loves Me.” Small boys and young men within congregations around the country lead it regularly. Literally, this song has touched the lives of many all over the world. William B. Bradbury wrote the following lyrics to this song:
Jesus Loves me!
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me;
Yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.
In fact, I usually lead this song on Sunday evenings in our Pew Packer’s class—it is definitely one that I frequently lead, almost more than any other song. Moreover, it has not been that long since David Nuckels lead this song during our worship on a Sunday evening. Why? The reason is that even as adults, we love this song, too. The song is so basic, and yet so meaningful. It is a personal recognition of the love of Christ for us. When Christian parents begin to teach songs to their children, usually this is among the first they learn. To see the look on their faces as they sing this song helps me realize they really do love this song.
However, we should not attribute this song only to babies or small children. The words of this song apply to all ages, not only to small children.
When William B. Bradbury wrote the song, he might have been thinking of Mark 10:14:
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
God has filled the Bible with passages that declare Christ’s love for us. Paul perfectly says it best in Romans 8:35, 38-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Adults and teenagers need to realize that this song is not a “baby song,” but is a wonderful song that even applies to us. Let us all teach our children that this song is special because Christ loves us, including those of us who are older, and died for us on Calvary.