During a search for song lyrics centered around the theme of putting action to faith, I came across “Asleep in the Light” by Keith Green, which I’ve heard many times over the years (In fact, his “No Compromise” album was the first compact disc I purchased). This guy had a major impact as a musician, and my mom saw him in concert before he was killed in a tragic plane crash in 1982. He was known for some inspiring stuff; one being his policy of letting people pay whatever they could afford for his concerts and his albums (one of which 61,000 copies went out for free, before the Internet!). Another crazy thing was the house he and his wife rented out so they could care for the prostitutes, drug addicts, and homeless. Some of his songs such as “O Lord, You’re Beautiful” and “There Is A Redeemer” are still known today. And he was quoted by his wife Melody in the book “A Cry in the Wilderness,” as saying, “It’s time to quit playing church and start being the Church.” The key lesson I find here: Keith Green called his fellow Christians to get out there and start serving people, and he backed up his words by living it out.
Below are the lyrics for “Asleep in the Light,” which I’m adding to a list of other related songs.
Share on FacebookDo you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don’t you care, don’t you care
Are you gonna let them drown
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done“Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord”
You know it’s all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tearBut He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in
Oh, can’t you see it’s such a sin?Cause He brings people to you door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say
“God bless you, be at peace”
And all heaven just weeps
Cause Jesus came to your door
You’ve left him out on the streetsOpen up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delayGod’s calling and you’re the one
But like Jonah you run
He’s told you to speak
But you keep holding it in
Oh can’t you see it’s such a sin?The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
Cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bedOh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on, get out of your bedHow can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s doneDon’t close your eyes
Don’t pretend the job’s done
Come away, come away, come away with Me my love
Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, my love
The Lord used Keith Green to have a huge impact on many of us who were regenerated by God or were open to His Holy Spirit’s work in the late 70s and very early 80s. After the Lord saved me in 1977 as a young graduate student, Keith Green was some of the very first “contemporary Christian music” I ever heard, and his zealous messages some of the first I ever heard. I praise the LORD for using Keith’s music and message to continue to work among His people, including many young people I know, today.
Brian in Oregon