“The teacher of religious law replied, ‘Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love Him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” (Mark 12:32-33 NLT)
Giving all of anything can be difficult. We promise to make ALL the payments on our new ________; or keep ALL the vows we make to our spouse or business partner or new employer. We too often enter into agreements, both verbal and written before we count the cost and ponder the implications of our “agreement.”
What about our “agreement” with the Lord? Often in the emotion of the moment all we can think about is what the Lord is giving us – forgiveness, hope, eternal life, His Spirit, Heaven – that we completely ignore or fail to consider what this “commitment” is going to cost us. We rarely ask ourselves what any of the things the Lord asks of us means to us in practical terms.
How do we live out our salvation on a daily basis? How do we illustrate our commitment to Christ with a flesh and blood response? How do we reflect and live out the “all in” attitude of our heart we felt at the Men’s Conference, Women’s Gathering, or Camp experience in and through our life today and each day hence?
Paul David Tripp wrote: “Live today in the power of the resurrection, power to say ‘no’ to what leads to death and the power to say ‘yes’ to what gives life.” That sounds great and it stirs emotion, but what does it mean? What does that look like on a day-to-day basis? How do we receive the Spirit’s power into our lives? How do we activate that power when faced with temptation? How is it reflected in how we live and love?
Those are questions we must ask and answer for ourselves, but I can offer some suggestions. We all walk our own path, but, truthfully, we’re never alone. The Lord is ever-present, which means He’s as close to us in any given second as the air we breathe. The Lord also, ideally, gives us a person or group of persons with whom we can walk.
Our individual journeys may lead us in different directions, but we can learn from one another and garner strength and courage from others in our walk. We activate the Spirit’s presence through prayer and conversation as we invite Him to make Himself known as we navigate the course of any given day. We confess our need of Him and our desire to please Him. We explain in our own words and our own ways that we want to accomplish His will as He gives us instructions throughout the day, but we need His guidance.
When we’re tempted to say “yes” to what will rob us of vitality in our walk with Him, we confess and ask the Lord to strengthen us and give us courage to turn away. We formulate godly disciplines that will shape us and mold us in ways that will make it easier for us to keep our mind on Him and our steps on the right course.
Being “all-in” for Jesus isn’t simply a declaration that someone may make about us at our funeral, it’s a decision we make each morning as our eyes open to the light of a new day. It’s our declaration of allegiance to Jesus as we begin the day and as we take each step with Him throughout the day.
These are the things that will lead to whether we’ll be “all-in” for Him or not. It’s not simply a “life-time” decision, it’s an “each moment of this day and everyday decision.”
Are you living “All-in” for Jesus today? If you’re not, why not?
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 