All to Him I Owe

“Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe…”

The lyrics to this popular hymn are so very rich. But I confess. I have been a theological snob about this line in particular. I pick things apart sometimes, and draw unnecessary lines in the sand. It has taken a lot of repentance and faith to deal with the sin of defending the truth of Scripture out of pride, so I’ve wrestled with this one silently in my heart up until it recently dawned on me that maybe I’ve been looking at this ALL WRONG.

Maybe you just sing it, not really thinking that hard about it. More likely, the lyric simply reminds you that because of the gospel, you find joy in offering your life as a living sacrifice to Jesus… which is scriptural, and not a burden, and in which case it is entirely possible that I am WAY overthinking it.

But if you’re anything like me, “All to him I owe” makes you uneasy. Jesus paid it all, so now I owe Him? That can’t be true. Following this line of reasoning, I’m still in debt. I’ve got to pay him back with my life: my good deeds, my own righteousness. I have an obligation now to give him recompense for his death, burial, and resurrection on my behalf. And that’s not good news! That’s a heavy weight to bear! Like, really, really heavy! Jesus Paid It All. Period. Nothing do I owe. Isn’t that the whole point of the gospel?

But what if … just what if… “All to him I owe” refers to the credit due to Jesus for paying my debt in full? Jesus paid it ALL. I owe him all the credit for my righteouness. Whoa … now that’s good news. And it puts a super cool shift in perspective on the whole rest of the song, especially the next two lines. I don’t know the writer’s original intent, but I think I’ll go with that from now on, and sing my heart out with reckless abandon. My public apologies in advance to the folks in the row in front of me. 

1. I hear the Savior say,
   “Thy strength indeed is small;
   Child of weakness, watch and pray,
   Find in Me thine all in all.”
   • Refrain:
     Jesus paid it all,
     All to Him I owe;
     Sin had left a crimson stain,
     He washed it white as snow.
2. For nothing good have I
   Whereby Thy grace to claim;
   I’ll wash my garments white
   In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
3. And now complete in Him,
   My robe, His righteousness,
   Close sheltered ’neath His side,
   I am divinely blest.
4. Lord, now indeed I find
   Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
   Can change the leper’s spots
   And melt the heart of stone.
5. When from my dying bed
   My ransomed soul shall rise,
   “Jesus died my soul to save,”
   Shall rend the vaulted skies.
6. And when before the throne
   I stand in Him complete,
   I’ll lay my trophies down,
   All down at Jesus’ feet.