Lyrics
Verse 1
You are there when I am lonely
You are there when I need a friend
I take comfort in Your word
When I get weary, and I know You'll be there to the end
Chorus
When it's all said and done and my race has been run
That's when Your face will be the first face I want to see
Verse 2
You were there when I had no one to talk to
All of my friends get just a little too busy for me
I don't care about the things I suffer down here on this earth
It really, it really don't bother me
Bridge
Because soon, I'll be forever in His presence
I know You'll be there just waiting for me
Your face will be the first face I want to see
Outro
I want to see Jesus
You suffered and died for me
Jesus, oh, You freed me from myself
I want to see Jesus
And Your face will be the first face I want to see
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"The First Face I Want to See" opens by naming God's presence during specific kinds of loneliness, times when friends grow too busy and no one remains to talk to. That specific, relatable loneliness frames the song's central hope as a response to real isolation rather than abstract longing.
Its chorus names a single priority for the moment life ends, seeing Christ's face before anything else, treating that hoped-for reunion as more significant than any other concern about death or what follows it. Declaring indifference to present suffering because of that future hope reframes hardship as temporary compared to what is anticipated.
Rooted in contemporary gospel's testimony style, the song functions as an expression of eschatological hope centered on personal reunion with Christ, its closing repetition, wanting to see Jesus, treating that specific desire as sufficient explanation for enduring whatever difficulty remains beforehand.
Related Scripture
- 1 Corinthians 13:12 Describes seeing face to face rather than dimly, echoed in the song's hope of seeing Jesus's face.
- Psalm 27:4 Describes desiring to dwell in God's presence above all else, echoed in the song's priority of seeing Jesus first.