Take The World But Give Me Jesus

Tim Hughes' “Take The World But Give Me Jesus” is a worship song of single-minded devotion. It opens with a statement of loss freely accepted: the singer has thrown it all away to gain a life in Jesus, and has found that all else is loss compared to the joy of knowing him.

The verse praises the beauty and majesty of God as far beyond compare, and says that he has won the singer's heart, so this will be the prayer. The chorus gives that prayer in a single line: take the world but give me Jesus, you're the treasure in this life. After seeing Jesus as the Savior, the singer says that he will leave the rest behind and go into the world to live a life of love. He will not be overcome, because the Lord is in him and is strong. The bridge adds that for time and for eternity he is in God's care. The title borrows from an old hymn by Fanny Crosby, and the song keeps the same spirit of choosing Christ over everything else. The simple, rising melody and repeated chorus make it easy for a congregation to take up as a prayer, and it fits services about commitment, missions or the cost of following Jesus. It is also a song for a quiet moment when a listener wants to restate what matters most.

Counting everything as loss for Christ is Philippians 3:7-8. Gaining the world and losing the soul is Matthew 16:26, and fixing eyes on Jesus is Hebrews 12:2.