Famous worship band Bethel Music has developed and introduced several amazing worship artists and songs over the years. The list includes married duo Brian and Jenn Johnson (“Have it All”), as well as talented worship artists Kalley Heiligenthal (“Ever Be”), Josh Baldwin (“The War is Over”), and Kristene DiMarco (“It is Well”).
Recently, Kristene dropped The Field, her new album that’s best described as an intimate listening experience with an ethereal worshipful tone. The album’s songs sound like recent music released by contemporary artists Kim Walker-Smith, Amanda Cook, and Taya.
The Field invites listeners to dig deep and sit with God in the uncomfortable and in the mystery; it speaks to our most basic need: simply being with our creator and learning more about Him.
From worship hits “Break Every Chain” to “It Is Well” to “I Will Follow You,” Kristene has consistently impressed me with her mature faith and sincere desire to serve Jesus. Her name, Kristene, means, “be steadfast for Christ.” And this song beautifully captures that sentiment. I had the chance to speak with Kristene about “What if Jesus.”
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.
I love sharing the song story for “What if Jesus.” It was 2020, and we were in the middle of all the political stuff that was going on. There was so much to get mad about and offended by.
I was dropping off my son at pre-school and I had this little melody drop into my head: “What if my reward is Jesus? What if I don’t get to see my enemies burn?” I’m humming the melody to myself, and it interrupted everything in me. I realized that I needed to ask myself if I wanted that to happen. What was in my heart? It broke me. It was kind of a funny moment, a little bit. I drove home and started turning the newfound melody into a song.
At the time, I was writing music with songwriter Michael Farren in Nashville. I shared with him the lyrical melody I came up with in my car. He said the melody was a song that we needed to write. He came up with another melody. And when I came home from Nashville, I let the Holy Spirit start asking me questions.
It started with, “What if His body bridges these chasms/That I have dug out in my own self-righteousness?” It was like the kindness of the Lord mixed with the most severe conviction. I could feel His love through the process, as His kindness leads to repentance.
What Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
Isaiah 53:3-4(NKJV): “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.”
1 John 4:21(NIV): "And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
Matthew 25:40(NIV): The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."
Romans 2:4(NIV): "Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
Hebrews 13:8(NKJV): “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Galatians 2:20(NKJV): "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV): “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
John 17:3(NKJV): "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 15:4-5(VOICE): "Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing."
What is the takeaway message?
Our opinions drive wedges between us. We think we’re right, so we stand on one side of this divide and point our fingers at people on the other side of the divide. Jesus is laying His body across the chasm of this divide between us. He’s reaching us and with His righteousness, He draws near.
In our self-righteousness, we pull away and point at what we don’t like and say we don’t want to be near that person or ideology. God loves us enough to turn us the way we should go.
The song points me toward two questions. What if Jesus sees what I miss? What if I don’t share my thoughts on politics? I think of a wedding table with people who’ve hurt me sitting around it. What if I’m sitting amongst these people?
I studied Matthew 20 and grieved over it. I thought it didn’t seem fair that I slaved away in His vineyard and when the workers who arrive late get paid the same as the ones who work all day.
The reward for working in the vineyard was friendship with Jesus. My reward for serving the Lord is His friendship and closeness. In the end, I still have this life of friendship with the Lord.
Lyrics
What if Jesus is okay with
Letting parts of Him remain a mystery?
What if Jesus is just smiling
When I think down here, I must know everything.
What if my views don't reflect His fullness?
And there's still so much more of Heaven yet to see
What if trusting Him is what He's looking for
Would that be good enough, good enough for me?
What if Jesus sees what I miss
And He does not share all my thoughts on politics?
What if His body bridges these chasms
That I have dug out in my self-righteousness
And what if people I don't agree with
Are the same ones pouring their perfume on His feet?
What if Jesus gets the whole of His reward?
Would that be beautiful, beautiful to me?
What if Jesus desires mercy
While I'm busy judging others for their deeds?
'Cause if I have His heart and friendship
Then I must know He loves the liars and the thieves
What if I spend life in His vineyard
And at midnight He redeems my enemies?
What if trusting Him is what He's looking for?
Would that be good enough, good enough for me? What if Jesus' wedding table
Holds the people that have hurt and wounded me?
What if I'm seated in the middle
While at the head are some who've only just believed?
Oh, what if after all I've been through
Everyone gets the same He promised me?
What if Jesus alone is the reward?
He would be good enough, good enough for me
He'd be more than good enough, good enough for me
Closing Thoughts
God wants us to believe in the freedom that we have on the cross of Jesus. We're free from our fears, addictions, insecurities, and perfectionism. Jesus came to die for us so that we can truly live in Him.
You can't earn your way into heaven. Jesus has already paid that price for us. God's mercy and grace are not based on our performance or what we can do for God. He pours out His mercy and grace—despite what we've done. It isn't something we can earn by our good works. Grace is freely given from God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Read the book, Prodigal God, by author Tim Keller. It’s a life-changing experience. In my life, I saw how the good works that I do can be more of a hindrance than even the bad things that I do. I was seeing myself as the elder brother in Tim’s book, which is a retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son passage from the Bible, in Luke 15:11-32.
In the parable, the younger brother asked his father for his inheritance. And his father gave it to him. The younger brother then left home and squandered it in the world, spending every dime. After a while, the younger brother returned home in shame. But his father welcomed him home with open arms.
The older brother resented his younger brother. He resented him because he worked the fields and fulfilled all his duties, only to have the younger brother return home to a feast in his name. A great example of how someone tries to score approval through good works.
I’ve needed Jesus to take that elder brother's burden from me. What’s freeing is that I know I can't earn God's approval. He doesn't owe me anything, and I don't bring anything to Him. Everything I have is because of His work for me on the cross. This song is a great reminder of that truth.
"What if Jesus" does an excellent job of explaining what the grace and unmerited favor of Jesus is about. My pastor uses the phrase, "God's riches at Christ's expense" to define grace. The irrefutable argument we have as believers are to share our story of grace. Tell others about how Jesus has changed our lives.
There are some truths that we, as believers, can agree on: God’s our Father who sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and He rose again and defeated death. Its message challenges us to think about our doubts, to see how Jesus calls on us to rely on Him and the power of His resurrection.
God explains love in 1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us." God's love was given at an outrageous cost, the life of His only begotten Son. As stated in the hymn, "Love so amazing, so divine, it demands our lives, our minds, and our souls."
Not only should we love God because He first loved us, but we should also love others unconditionally because we were still sinners. This is an important message for everyone because Jesus tells us to love our enemies as we love ourselves. Since so many of us have trouble loving ourselves, no wonder it’s hard to love our enemies.
Looking out for the needs of others is what matters most. If you open your eyes to the needs of others, and if you serve and care for others more than thinking about yourself, then you can live out the song’s life-giving words.
I love singing Kristene’s words with her, confessing, “Oh, what if after all I've been through/Everyone gets the same He promised me? What if Jesus alone is the reward? He would be good enough, good enough for me/He'd be more than good enough, good enough for me” Amen to that.
NRT Lead Contributor Kevin Davis is a long-time fan of Christian music, an avid music collector, and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters
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