For All I Am
For all I am
And all I've done
My reward was a debt that I couldn't pay
But all You are
And all You've done
Has cancelled the debt when you died in my place
If there is one thing I can do
There is just one thing I can say
I will tell Your wond'rous story
Of the Christ who died for me
Tell of how the King of Glory
Suffered on the tree
I must tell Your wond'rous story
You who brought the world to be
You are crowned with stars in glory
Yet suffered on the tree
Bled and died for me
Singing "Thank You"
Is never enough
Somehow "Thank You"
Doesn't go far enough
When my heart can't contain
The wonders of Your love
Just singing "Thank You"
Is never enough
© Kieran Metcalfe 2007
It's probably pretty obvious where a couple of lines for this song came from.
The first two lines of the chorus were lifted from the classic hymn of the same name. The idea of borrowing lyrics from old hymns came from listening to a Tim Hughes album. He seems to do it all the time. "I Will Sing the Wond'rous Story" has always been a favourite of mine, so I thought I'd try to use those lines, but maybe taking them in a different direction.
This song was the result. Rather than the otherworldly original images of singing praises around the crystal sea, "For All I Am" is a song of commitment to not just stand in church, singing nice songs about our salvation, but rather to head out and share the message, the story.
If I'm perfectly honest, the song was a challenging idea when I wrote it, and it still is now.
©2008