I remember when Empire State of Mind first hit the airwaves. The song was so powerful and soul packed that many were touched by it. Some were touched in a good way as it became an anthem for the city of New York (replacing the old Blue Eyes hit), while it became a target for many other music/ non-music consumers.
Many heard this song, targeted it and made one line famous: Jesus can't save you / life starts when the church ends! Now I've heard all of the accusations aimed a Jay-Z. From him being a 5 percenter, to being apart of the illuminati, to satan himself. Since all of these have hit the fan I've also noticed that he has denied each bullet.
A few people have asked me what I thought about the line and I've always said "I like it, but we will never know what he meant by it unless he spoke on it." And I still feel that way, but now I wanted to finally give my thoughts and interpretations of the line Jesus can't save you / life starts when the church ends!
I, being a Christian, I look at this statement for two sides: as a music lover and as a believer in Jesus Christ.
As a music lover I thought is was a great depiction of the times we live in and a great conversational piece. So many, people are lost in the talk of it being the "Last Days" that they are losing focus in what truly matters. They are no longer striving for longevity, but for the NOW materialistic grabs of what life has to offer. You have people saying "I love God, BUT...." this is real life right here. I'm dealing with this not him. THey want to believe as a safety net but they feel they can't follow because of the obstacles placed in front of them. I look at the line as saying simply, you can get caught in the religious realm of thinking but you don't apply to everyday life because of some doubt.
As a Christian, I look at it as glass shattering truth! Like here is the mirror now face yourself. Checkout both parts here...(Jesus can't save you) One part being Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin and the fate of being a sinner. BUT, although he did all of this God still gave us a free will. A free will to decide which side of the fence we would like to stand on. People only get upset with statements that may possibly hold some type of weight. The Bible doesn't say that Jesus died and now the whole world is saved...it says that who so ever believes. With that saying, if Jesus came down from heaven in the mother ship and said lets go many would still walk past him. True indeed he died for our sins but its still up to you, me, us to accept him.
The last part (Life starts when the church ends) shows the understanding of a true Christian. Understand that the Bible says that we are the church. We often say that the building we go to every Sunday is that church; one because of our lack of knowledge/reading, or two being our choice of not wanting that responsibility. So, I see this line saying remember what you are living for. Life on earth is like training for life in heaven. Our praise and our worship here is merely practice. Our faith and trust is God and his grace and mercy for us is a test of our dedication to him. God loves us and never wants us to stray away from him but he has to be sure that we are honest when we say we want eternity with him.
Jesus can't save you/ Life starts when the church ends......REAL TALK!!!
J-Ark
People focused on that line so much simply because Jay-Z, who was already being ACCUSED of being a satanist, mentioned Jesus. And that line in particular was easily something to take out of context. But nobody pays attention to what he said and how described the woman in that verse. She was like many Christians. Out doing what she did putting herself out there as a promiscuous woman but was in church because it looked good. "Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out; Everybody ride her, just like the bus routes. Hail Mary, to the city your a virgin; And Jesus can't save you, Life starts when the church ends" Or in other words...you really live your life when you leave those 4 walls.
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