Hi, this is Joni and there are so many beautiful, popular praise songs right now. If you know this one, sing it with me, would you? It’s called “The Robe.”
Anyone whose heart is cold and lonely
Anyone who can’t believe
Anyone whose hands are worn and empty
Come, come as you are
For the robe is of God that will cloth your nakedness
And the robe is His grace, it’s all you need, come as you are.
Well, we sing about that but we often feel it, don’t we? Oh, how we need Jesus, so come as you are, friend, He’s all you need. You know when I first became a Christian I heard that a lot -- that Jesus Christ was really all you needed – I wasn’t so sure I believed it, though. It seemed to me as a young Christian there had to be more. If I wanted to grow, I had to understand God's plan and purpose in trials… or maybe I had to get a handle on the great doctrines of the faith… or I had to memorize passages of Scripture and become greatly skilled in the art of prayer.
I knew several Christians back then who became real scholars after they returned from Bible college – they went on to pursue Master’s degrees in theology and Christian education. These were the ones who seemed to have the Christian faith down pat… these were the believers who had it all together. So when I would hear other people say that Jesus is all you really need, I had my doubts. There should be more, I figured.
Then I had the accident in which I became paralyzed, and suddenly I changed my thinking. Oh, you know, memorizing and prayer and understanding great doctrine is important; and, yes, discerning the mind of God behind trials might be admirable, but when push came to shove; when suffering stripped me down to the basics (as I was lying in that hospital bed for so long), I began to see how everything really does focus around Jesus Christ, period. Just Jesus!
2 Corinthians 1:20 describes it this way. It says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken to us to the glory of God.” There's enough power in that little verse to ponder for an entire year. I mean, think of it, friend: every promise that the Father has ever made finds its fulfillment in His Son, the Lord Jesus. When God promises that He will impart to us grace, He gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace. When God promises to give us peace, he gives us Jesus, the Prince of peace, and the promise of comfort? Well, He gives us the Lord of all comfort. And when He imputes to us His righteousness, he gives us his Son, the Lord of righteousness. Even life finds its source in Jesus, the Word of life.
Even John 3:16, “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son.” There you have it, it’s Jesus. It’s all about Christ. Jesus is everything to you and to me too. He is the answer to your every hope and prayer and promise. And the Christian walk is not so complicated after all, is it? It’s simple. It is... Jesus. He is the source and the end of every promise. And to that you and I can gratefully say, “Amen and Amen.”
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends