Dusty Bibles and Black Sheep
KJOL has two new songs right now that address aspects of our failures, using admonition and compassion and humility.
Josiah Queen
Josiah Queen’s song is about the realization that he had been neglecting his own personal time in the Word. He laments that we neglect our Bibles and “wonder why we feel this way.”
It begins with an intriguing verse that may have multiple meanings:
Hey, how you been?
It's been a while, and I'm just checking in
I miss the way things used to be back in 2017
And I just miss my friend
On first glance, it seems he is talking to an old friend. But I think his “old friend” is his Bible, and he misses “the way things used to be” when he was faithfully reading it “back in 2017.”
He claims that he is “fine” but also admits “struggling to find some peace of mind” and laments how “we’re too busy and can’t find the time” (to read our Bibles).
Hey, I've been fine
I've been struggling to find some peace of mind
It's the problem of our nation and in our generation
We're too busy and can't find the time
Are we busy, or is it all a lie?
Then he shifts into an exhortation that we have “brand new iPhones” but “dust on our Bibles” and we are simply “blind leading blind folks.”
With dust on our Bibles, brand-new iPhones
No wonder why we feel this way
We walk with our eyes closed, blind leading blind folks
And I'm done with those idols and dusty Bibles
Pretty strong words, but they come from someone who is admonishing himself for letting the “idols” of social media to crowd out his Bible reading.
Ben Fuller
Ben Fuller has been very open about his past. Four years ago, he says, “God found me in Vermont. He found me in addiction.” Last year he wrote a song called “Turn” in which he admits that he nearly stopped at a bar after a relationship had soured, but instead, he “turned.”
I wanted to turn to the bottle
I even drove past the bar
It turns out I'm not strong as I thought
But that's when I learned that You are
Screaming my prayers to Heaven
I turn it all over
Let You turn it around, turn it around
His current song, “Black Sheep,” is calling out to those who are struggling with the same things he did.
You hate everything about you
You think we're better off without you
You wear your pain out on your sleeve
And you paint it on in rebel ink
But the alcohol and pills ain't fixed a thing
So, how's it going out there?
Acting like you ain't scared
How's that heart of stone?
It ain't so hard when you're alone
Crying tears you hope nobody sees
Guess the good news is He'll never leave you be
Jesus loves you black sheep
He reassures the black sheep that there is “good news.”
And amazing grace is a pesky, pesky thing
But the good news is He'll never leave you be
Jesus loves you black sheep
And that’s good news for all us, whether we think we are perfect lambs or black sheep: Jesus loves you.
