Lyrics
Verse 1
Maybe we've made this complicated
More than it was ever meant to be
Hasn't it always been about the same thing
Lord bring us back to simple things
Chorus
You, be the center of it all
My heart belongs to You
My Savior all in all
You're the One I hold on to
For the beauty of Your Name
My soul will live to say
Jesus I love You
Verse 2
Teach us to discern the moment
When to serve and when to sit here at Your feet
Keep us awake to what's important
Just like Mary chose the better thing
Chorus (x2)
For You, be the center of it all
My heart belongs to You
My Savior all in all
You're the One I hold on to
For the beauty of Your Name
My soul will live to say
Jesus I love You
Tag
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Bridge (x2)
My whole life for Your glory
My whole world for You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
If my days tell a story
Let it be of You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
Bridge
My whole life for Your glory
My whole world for You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
If my days tell a story
Let it be of You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
Tag 2:
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Bridge 2:
My whole life for Your glory
My whole world for You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
If my days tell a story
Let it be of You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
Bridge 2:
My whole life for Your glory
My whole world for You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
If my days tell a story
Let it be of You only
Everything for the honor of Your Name
Tag 2:
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Oh, I love You
Oh, I love You, Jesus I love You
Chorus
For You, be the center of it all
My heart belongs to You
My Savior all in all
You're the One I hold on to
For the beauty of Your Name
My soul will live to say
Jesus I love You
Outro:
My soul will live to say
Jesus I love You
My soul will live to say
Jesus I love You
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“Center” by Abbie Gamboa and Bethel Music is a prayer to simplify devotion. The first verse asks whether “we've made this complicated, more than it was ever meant to be,” and answers by asking the Lord to bring the church “back to simple things.” The chorus then names the simple thing: “Be the center of it all. My heart belongs to You.”
The second verse draws on the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, asking for the ability to “discern the moment, when to serve and when to sit here at Your feet,” and to choose “the better thing,” as Mary did. That passage supplies the song's central picture of attention fixed on Jesus rather than on busyness.
The bridge turns the theme to the whole of life: “My whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only.” It is close to 1 Corinthians 10:31, which speaks of doing everything for the glory of God, and to Colossians 1:18, where Christ holds first place. The song's message is wholehearted, uncluttered devotion.
Related Scripture
- Luke 10:38-42 Mary chose the better thing at Jesus’ feet
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 Doing everything for the glory of God
- Colossians 1:18 Christ holding first place in everything