Meantime

BeBe Winans' “Meantime” is a gospel ballad about loving God and people while waiting to arrive in heaven. The opening lines admit uncertainty: “I don't know how, but I know I'll make it over. Don't know when, but He said He'll bring me through.” He says he cannot yet reach his destination, though he can see it.

His earnest prayer is to be with God, and the chorus decides how to live until then. “In the meantime, I'm gonna keep on loving You, on this side of heaven.” The word meantime carries the point: the present is not wasted waiting but a stretch of time in which love continues. The bridge asks God to love him forever because he does not want to be lonely. The second verse says God taught him how to love all his brothers and gave him a certain job that he must do, and that it will not be long until a day of celebration, when he sings a song of joy with him. The smooth R&B arrangement lets the voice carry the feeling, and the lyric avoids heavy theology in favor of plain longing and purpose. It speaks to those who miss someone who has gone ahead, or who are tired and want to be home while still doing the work they have been given.

Pressing toward the goal is Philippians 3:13-14. Loving a brother as proof of loving God is 1 John 4:20-21, and God dwelling with his people is Revelation 21:3.