When Nostalgia Meets Nostalgia | Take 6: The Biggest Part of Me
Recently I was perusing Spotify and listening to various songs that took me back. You know, back to the good ole days! It still blows my mind to think that 30 years before 1994 was 1964! In 1994, 1964 sounded so ancient. Serenity now!
It is a fun practice, and hitting play to a song I haven’t heard in years always takes me back to those good times of mullets, synthesizers, acid-washed jeans, and WWJD bracelets. Those years were instrumental in my discipleship. I never want to live in the past and wear people out with my old man “back in my day” statements, yet it awakens something in me.
Nostalgia. I love to reminisce, and I love nostalgic things: songs, toys, vacations, TV shows, and movies to name a few. When your memories line up with melodies and feelings, it is fun! I remember first hearing Take 6’s “The Biggest Part of Me.” It was like two worlds colliding! They were covering the feel-good song by the band Ambrosia, and the song in its original 1980 version exudes good vibes. Now my favorite harmony grooving group, Take 6, was laying down a track that made me want to hit repeat repeatedly on my jam box.
Take 6 was one of the most influential groups in my early love of Christian music, and this new radio hit was perfect for rolling down the windows and cruising! Much like when Audio Adrenaline covered “Free Ride,” I was all in. My band geek itches got scratched with Take 6 harmonies, and my growing faith was finding its foundation in Jesus. The song gave me all the nostalgic feels in 1994. When I listen now, it’s like a nostalgia explosion. It is quite literally, “The Bomb!” If you are following me, the song felt nostalgic when I heard the cover almost 30 years ago for the first time. And now as I listen to the 30-year-old cover of the 45-year-old original . . . well, you get the picture.
As I listen to the song, it prods me to ask the question, “Is Jesus the biggest part of me?” If I am a Christian, the answer is a resounding YES! It is one thing to get nostalgic, and it is quite another to remember who Jesus is in my life. In fact, Jesus is my very life! He is not just part of me; He is everything. As the Apostle Paul stated in Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ!”
Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 6:16, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” When we are in Christ, His Spirit becomes one with us! He truly is the biggest part of us. Or, as the 90’s praise chorus states, He is our All in All!
Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ, and He is my life! (Galatians 2:20) The old me is gone, and all of His Spirit dwells in me. Yes, this mystery is profound, but it is revealed that our hope of glory is Christ in us! (Colossians 1:24-29)
A lot of things make up my life. Many of them are excellent things. My family, friends, and ministry. My home and my health. I even enjoy various hobbies and love reminiscing as I listen to music. I love feeling nostalgic and reminiscing. But He’s the biggest part of me.
It’s “more than an easy feeling . . . He’s the life that breathes in me.”
