I hear the Saviour say,
‘Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.’

Chorus:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
‘Jesus died my soul to save,’
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
‘Jesus died my soul to save,’
My lips shall still repeat.

Fellowship Bible Church (no longer in existence), La Mirada, California, USA.  One Sunday evening in this month of March, thirty-two years ago, in 1981.   As we sang this hymn, my heart was burdened — telling and teaching this message was a far better way to spend my life than pursuing a career in chemistry or physics.  Instead of continuing my study of differential equations, quantum physics, and thermodynamics, I would study theology, Greek, and Hebrew.

Jesus paid it all.

He  shed His blood to wash away my sins, removing the filthy rags of my own righteousness and replacing it with the glorious robe of His perfect righteousness.

That’s worth talking about, whether “in the ministry” or not, don’t you think?

“All to Him I owe.”