Bart Millard, from the band MercyMe, wrote the hit song, “I Can Only Imagine,” after the death of his father.
Bart’s life changed forever at the age of three when his parents divorced. After his mother remarried, it was decided that Bart and his younger brother would live with their father, who had a very short temper. Millard recalls feeling like his father’s punching bag every time his dad became angry about any little thing and took a swing at him. (See the interview here.)
During Millard’s senior year of high school, his father was diagnosed with cancer. His dad’s illness eventually brought them closer together and helped Bart see firsthand how dramatically his dad had changed after coming to know Jesus.
Bart said, “I got a front-row seat to see this guy go from being a monster to falling desperately in love with Jesus,” Millard says. “By the time he passed away when I was a freshman in college, not only was he my best friend, he was like the Godliest man I’d ever known. And it’s literally changed the trajectory of my life.”
His dad’s transformation helped him discover his own faith.
At his father’s funeral, Millard’s grandmother made an off-hand comment. “She said, ‘I can only imagine what your dad’s seeing now,’ and I became obsessed with that phrase,” he says. “As a 19-year-old, it was easier to think of my dad being in a better place.”
And the rest, they say, is history.
I Can Only Imagine
I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes would see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine
Yeah
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine, yeah-yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine