About the Title

(There's More After the Lyrics)

The Only Thing

I heard someone say the other day
They'd seen in me true love displayed
Blessed by something I had done for them

No sooner did they speak those words
I found myself somehow disturbed
Uneasy as I took their compliment

Because I know the heart inside this man
And I know the truth of who I am

The only thing that's good in me is Jesus
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus
I'll live long enough to know no matter what this life may show
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus

If you could walk the hallways of my heart
And see things as they really are
I wonder if you might be surprised

Seeing faded walls of pride and fear
Rooms I've filled with faithless tears
And corners where I've stood in compromise

Oh but you'd see the work his grace has done
And you'd know just how far I've come

The only thing that's good in me is Jesus
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus
I'll live long enough to know no matter what this life may show
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus

And in a thousand years
When the dust of this world clears
And I look back on my life and see in perfect light

Yeah, yeah, the only thing that's good in me is Jesus
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus
I know me well enough to know yeah

The only thing that's good in me is yeah
The only thing that's good in me is yeah
I know me well enough to know no matter what this life may show
The only thing that's good in me is, yeah, is Jesus
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Songwriters: Ronnie Freeman / Tony Wood

The Only Thing lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group

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The first time that I saw Michael English in concert it was "after." For the rest of his life, there will be a before and after for Michael English.

There's the before when all the world perceives you as perfect and upright, beyond reproach, and chosen by God. Then there is the after when all the world says, "I knew he/she was not what they said." The after when the world who could not care less when you served God with all of your heart rejoices in your failure, in your humanity.

That night was the first time that I heard Michael sing, "The Only Thing Good," and these lines went straight to my heart.

I'll live long enough to know no matter what this life may show
The only thing that's good in me is Jesus

You see, I wanted to be that person that people perceived me to be in my own "before." I was a good person. I did all the right things. I was loyal to my family. I served in my church. In the before, I was once told, "You could rob the bank without a mask because no one would believe it even if they had a picture." 

But that night as I watched Michael English struggle with his before and after, it hit me that there really isn't a before and after - at least not the way the human mind most often understands it. You see, when you come to Jesus, He changes you, and he becomes the good in you. Some days I forget that. Some days I still clamor for the approval of humans. My flesh wants to be included. My flesh wants to belong. My flesh wants to be one of the crowd. But, oh with His grace, I realize that the only place I really belong is in His loving embrace.

And the only thing that's good in me is Jesus.