All or nothing
Jesus asks us to give him our heart and our soul and live for him alone. We can’t be half-hearted. We can’t dip our toe in the water. You can’t be part Christian. It is all or nothing. He has so much on offer for us, if only we would dive in rather than standing at the edge testing the water. He doesn’t want us to slowly wade out, he longs for us to do a running jump and cannonball into the ocean of his unfailing love and grace. He wants all of us, not just the parts we feel like giving over. We need to let Jesus have his way totally in our lives, for his way is so much greater than our plans. He formed us in our mother’s womb and had in mind plans for us, plans to prosper and not harm. He doesn’t want us to be lukewarm, following only the bits we like. When it comes to Jesus we need to give our all – all our heart, all our soul, everything. We can hold nothing back. Will you give him control and let him have his way with you?
In Revelation 3 Jesus says to the church in Laodicea “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” He does not want us to be lukewarm, half-hearted in our faith. Jesus desires us to be red hot, on fire with a passion for His name. It is so easy to sit on the sidelines and watch. But Jesus wants us to get out of our seat, get onto the pitch and get our head in the game. We have not been saved to live a life of passiveness, but to a life of action. A life of living out our faith. A life of going hard for God. A life of surrender, of saying, like Isaiah did, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8).
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus tells us “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We cannot be divided in our devotion. When it comes to following Jesus it is all or nothing. On the cross Jesus fully died for us. He didn’t hold any part of himself back. He gave his all, and asks us to do the same.
Today, pledge to hold nothing back. Pledge to give Jesus your all. Because if you don’t surrender all to Him, you may as well surrender nothing. Our salvation is free, but it comes with a cost. We must surrender all. All for the glory of God. And as we surrender all for God, we will find that really it is not a sacrifice, but a huge gain – if you keep reading Matthew 6 you reach verse 33 in which Jesus promises “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need”.
Missionary Jim Elliot once said “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Give your all to Jesus, and you will gain everything you need for eternity.
Image source: http://deardarlingxoxo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/fact-spontaneous-is-my-middle-name.html