With All I Am
I’ve heard so many times over the years at Christmastime the phrase in Christian circles, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” It’s funny because the saying is true, but it seems to have become as cliché as “All’s well that ends well” or “Don’t cry over spilled milk”. I say this to say the following…
I have recently become reacquainted with a worship song I have not heard in years and years and really like. It’s called “With All I Am”. I was listening to this song again today. The first line says, “Jesus I believe in You.” And for some reason, this time, it jolted my heart. In an instant my heart was pierced with this simple truth…and I realized with a renewed revelation—like I’d been hit with a bolt of lightening—that YES, I really DO believe in You, Jesus.
Suddenly, tears stung my eyes. And, as I closed my eyes, it was just me and Him there in the room. We were alone, and the next lyric lilted, “Jesus I belong to You,” and in that moment…such a warmth came over my heart; He was as close to me as my next breath. It was the sweetest most certain thing I have felt and experienced in a long time…I BELONG to Him. I am HIS.
And here it is, the next lines: “You’re the reason that I live…The reason that I sing…With all I am.” Right there and right then, my mind went to, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In that moment, this phrase wasn’t cliché anymore. It wasn’t just a catchy rhyming statement we say at Christmastime. It wasn’t just something rattled off, it was the TRUTH.
He IS the reason for the season. He IS the reason we celebrate—not just at Christmas, but at every time of the year. HE is the reason that I live, the reason that I sing, the reason that I move and breathe and have my being…it’s ALL because of HIM!! His Word confirms it!
Jesus I believe in you: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Jesus I belong to you: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30
You’re the reason that I live: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” John 1:1-4
The reason that I sing: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13:5,6
Today, as we contemplate the season, and the reason for the season, let’s not forget who we believe in, to whom we belong, who gives us life, and who is the reason that we sing…His name is JESUS!
Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member