Because He Lives
Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the classic hymn “Because He Lives” when they were wondering if bringing a child into the world in the 1960s was wise! It's become one of the great Easter songs, reminding us that "life is worth the living" because of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns! Today is the Friday after Easter, so we're going to look at a resurrection hymn. Now, there are people who donate towards my ministry—thank you to all of you. I asked everybody on my supporters group which resurrection hymn they would want to hear. I gave four options, and this one was the standout. This one was way ahead of the others: "Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow." It's a beautiful Easter song, but it begs the question: what makes a hymn a hymn? Is it just a song with Christian words, or does it have to be written in a particular era? What about a modern song—could that be called a hymn if it was written this year?
This song was written in 1971, and I thought to myself, does that make it a hymn or is it a chorus? I don't know what the difference is, but in some of the books that I use in my research for Friday Classic Hymns, this hymn is mentioned. So perhaps it is a hymn. What do you think defines a hymn? I'd love for you to share your comments on that below, and also to share your feelings and memories about this song. Does it have a special meaning to you?
It's one of my favourites. I only got to know it when I joined HCMC Methodist in 2018, and I have a particular memory of singing this song at the funeral of a friend of mine, Vincent. It was arousing because we knew where he was, and so singing these words was very meaningful on that day. I'll never forget that. So I look forward to diving into this one, but first, let's take a look at the history of the song.
The Story Behind "Because He Lives"
"Because He Lives" was written by husband-and-wife songwriting duo Bill and Gloria Gaither. Over the past 60 years or so, the Gaithers have become quite famous around the world for their music.
Bill was born in 1936 in Indiana and became an English teacher. Gloria was born in 1942 in Michigan and taught French. They ended up teaching at the same school and meeting in the late 50s. They got married in 1962. By 1967, their music ministry had got so big that they both stopped teaching and started travelling, writing and producing music full-time.
In fact, Bill Gaither was instrumental in starting the Christian music industry and the first Dove Awards, which are now quite famous. He was very involved in setting that up. Over the years since then, the Gaithers have been mentors for many artists coming into the music industry. Artists such as Michael W. Smith, Carmen, Don Francisco, Amy Grant and many others got their start—or at least got well known—through working with the Gaithers.
Famously, the Gaithers have their Homecoming videos, where all sorts of artists come together and sing. It's beautiful—all these voices joining in, and then everybody gets to have their little solo moment. Beautiful music. I remember my grandfather had all these Gaither videotapes. Every time we went round to his place, they were watching the Gaithers. It was just something that they used to always do.
"Because He Lives" is one of Bill Gaither's early songs. This is what he says about this song:
"We wrote 'Because He Lives' after a period of time when we had had a kind of dry spell and hadn't written any songs for a while. Also at the end of the 1960s, when our country was going through some great turmoil with the height of the drug culture and the whole 'God is dead' theory which was running wild in our country, and also at the peak of the Vietnam War, our little son was born—Benji. At least Gloria was expecting him, and I can remember at the time we thought, 'Brother, this is a really poor time to bring a child into the world.' At times we were even discouraged by the whole thing. Then Benji did come. We had two little girls whom we love very much, but this was our first son. And so that lyric came to us: 'How sweet to hold our newborn baby and feel the pride and joy he gives. But better still, the calm assurance that this child can face uncertain days because Christ lives.' And it gave us courage to say, 'Because Christ lives, we can face tomorrow,' and keep our heads high. Hopefully that could be of meaning to other people.
It's rather interesting now that although we don't consider ourselves old writers, we've had many people tell us they have used that song at a funeral of a loved one, and it has been very encouraging to them at a time when they were discouraged. So evidently a lot of people have shared the same kind of experience of being discouraged."
You know, they looked at the world in the 60s and thought, "You can't bring a child into this world." I wasn't around in the 60s, but I think the same thing today sometimes. I think, "To bring a child into today's world—how hectic must that be?" The world's gone nuts these last 10 years. Sometimes I wonder about the future.
But the empty tomb shows us that there is a future, even in the darkest times. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.
"Because He Lives" won the Gospel Song of the Year at the 1974 Dove Awards, and it is still sung today worldwide—every Easter and pretty much every other day. People are singing this song because of the great significance that it has.
So let's look at these words.
What Do the Lyrics of "Because He Lives" Mean?
Verse 1: God Sent His Son
The song starts by saying, "God sent His son, they called Him Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive."
It's a little summary of what Jesus did on earth, isn't it? To love, to heal, to forgive.
"He lived and died to buy my pardon."
Amen. He lived and then died so that I could be pardoned by what He did on the cross. On Good Friday, we focus in on that.
"An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives!"
So He didn't stay dead—He rose again. It's a beautiful summary of Jesus' life and resurrection there. It's lovely to sing songs like this that tell the story. People come into our churches, and they should hear the story of Jesus in our songs. Often, you know, very theological—this is just a song that tells the Jesus story. I love it.
I love it in that last line. It says it all: an empty grave. The fact that the grave was empty proves that Jesus lives, that He rose again.
Chorus: Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow
The chorus says, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, just because He lives!"
Oh, what wonderful words! Many people have sung this and found it to be true. When I look at the empty tomb, when I look at what Jesus has done, I can face tomorrow—even though I'm in a grave of my own, even though I'm beaten down and struggling. Because He lives, because He rose again, because He conquered, I can face tomorrow.
All my fear is gone. The resurrection of Christ takes away our fears. Isn't it wonderful to be able to serve a God who is alive—who didn't just die and now we honour His memory, but who came back to life physically and lives even now? We know, if that's the case, we know He holds the future.
I love that line: He holds the future. In other words, we don't have to worry about the future. Even when He was in the grave, the future was secure because God held it. Today, maybe you need to know that He holds the future.
And so life is worth the living, as the last line says. Life is worth the living. In the 60s, when they were saying maybe we shouldn't bring a child into the world, they realised, "No, no, no—life is worth the living because He lives." And it's the same today. Even though the 2020s have been absolute chaos, life is still worth the living because Christ is alive, and we can live with Him alongside us. Wonderful, wonderful.
Verse 2: How Sweet to Hold a Newborn Baby
Verse two is the one that he said in that quote: "How sweet to hold a newborn baby and feel the pride and joy he gives."
"But greater still the calm assurance: This child can face uncertain days because He lives!"
Yes. Greater still than the joy of a newborn child—which is like the greatest joy that you can imagine—greater still is the calm assurance that this child can face uncertain days because He lives.
As he said in that quote, the 60s were a rough time, and he thought, "Is a child going to make it in this world?" Yes, because Jesus will give this child life.
I've got friends who've just very recently had babies, and the same thing applies in this chaotic world that we're living in. There is hope, even for the smallest child growing into this world. Because with Jesus as their Saviour, they can live—they can get through this life. There are going to be uncertain days, of course. These are uncertain times. But we can face them, and our future generations will face them with power, with peace and with joy if they face them with God in the front.
Shouldn't that make us calm and give us assurance? It should, if we have faith—if we believe that Christ can conquer, and if we believe that Christ conquered the grave. Then whatever darkness comes to this world, those who know Christ will be able to face it with peace and with calm assurance.
Hallelujah! He is risen, and we have hope because of it.
Verse 3: And Then One Day I'll Cross the River
And then verse three, the final verse, goes, "And then one day, I'll cross the river, I'll fight life's final war with pain."
So this is quite a jump from a newborn baby to death—the whole cycle of life. One day I'm going to cross the river over to death, fight life's final war with pain. I've seen a lot of death in the last few years. In our churches, we've done funeral after funeral, and a lot of people have fought and had pain at the end.
But I love these last two lines: "And then, as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!"
Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that what happens to those in Christ? Death gives way to victory.
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He reigns. Oh, what a wonderful picture of what happens when we die! The lights of glory will open our eyes again on the other side, and we'll know—we'll know what we've believed all this time: that He lived and He conquered death for us.
And so death is no longer victorious in our lives. Death has no sting. But because of His resurrection from the grave, all who believe in Him will be resurrected. Death is not the end, but it's just the beginning of a new victory.
Maybe you are close to death. Who knows? Maybe I'm close to death. None of us know for sure. But if we are in Christ, we know that as death gives way to victory, we will meet Him and we'll know that He reigns. Nothing, nothing, can beat our God.
For Easter this year at Church of the Nazarene in Maidenswim, I kept getting the people to repeat a phrase. I said, "Christ conquered. Christ is in me. I will conquer." That was kind of our key little phrase that we took home with us. This song is reminding me of that today: Christ conquered death, and with Christ in me, I can conquer. Because He lives, and because He lives in me—most importantly—I can face tomorrow. I can get through, and not even death, not even death, will take me away from Him.
Wonderful, wonderful stuff. I love the song.
Conclusion
"Because He Lives" remains one of the most powerful resurrection hymns ever written. From its birth during a time of national turmoil in the 1960s to its continued relevance today, this song speaks to the eternal truth that Christ's resurrection gives us hope—hope to face tomorrow, hope to raise our children, and hope to face even death itself with victory.
Whether you're holding a newborn baby, facing uncertain times, or walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the message is the same: Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because He lives, we know He holds the future. And because He lives, life is worth the living.
If this hymn has blessed you, I'd encourage you to subscribe to the channel for more hymn analyses. If you'd like to support this ministry, you can do so through Patreon or PayPal. May the risen Christ give you peace and hope today.
References
Bill Gaither's personal account of writing "Because He Lives" (quoted in transcript)
Dove Awards - Gospel Song of the Year, 1974
