'All In'

We're called to be ‘all in,’ not serving Jesus in piecemeal fashion, but as a radical disciple, sacrificing everything for Him. 

The vivid, but difficult phrase Jesus uses to describe such a lifestyle is the phrase “carry your cross.”  I mean in Luke 14:27, Jesus just says it:  “…anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple.”  (Luke 14:27).   But what precisely does it mean to carry one’s cross?  Well obviously it relates to sacrificing for Jesus, but what is its deeper meaning?  Well most deeply, to carry one’s cross is to imitate Jesus, to totally saturate life with Jesus, so that every breath, every thought, every move, is bathed in Jesus, imitating what Jesus would think, feel and do.  

St. Patrick encourages us to do just that through a memorable prayer entitled ‘The Breastplate Of St. Patrick:  “…Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise…” – St. Patrick    Wow – talk about saturating life with Jesus!  Why St. Patrick covers all of life, seeking to imitate Jesus in all ways.  

May we seek to imitate Jesus in all ways, for if you and I are truly ‘all in’ for Jesus, we “…have been crucified with Christ” to quote Paul in Galatians 2:20.  “…It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I…live…I live by faith in the Son of God -- who loved me and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20, ESV).

Jonathan Edwards was one of America’s great Christian leaders.  Not only did Edwards write dozens of memorable sermons and books, he also sparked one of the greatest revivals ever, the Great Awakening, along with birthing a family tree that includes more than 300 ministries and missionaries, 120 university professors, 60 authors, 30 judges, 14 college presidents, 3 members of Congress, and 1 vice president.  But historians are quick to note, such outcomes are linked to a defining moment in Edwards life, when Edwards decided to go ‘all in’ for the Lord.  

         

It happened on January 12, 1723; Edwards recorded the moment in his diary:  “I made a solemn dedication of myself to God…giving up myself, and all that I had to God…to act as one that had no right to himself, in any respect…[taking] God for my whole portion…looking on nothing else as any part of my happiness…” – Jonathan Edwards  And with that Edwards penned seventy specific goals or resolutions building on his decision to dedicate himself completely to God, goals and resolutions Edwards re-read once a week, for his entire life.   Why:  because Jonathan Edwards believed:  if you don’t hold out on God, God will not hold out on you!  [adapted, Mark Batterson, ‘all in’, p. 171]

It's true:  if you don’t hold out on God, God will not hold out you!  And so don’t hold out on God.  Go ‘all in,’ saturating your life with Jesus, following Jesus passionately, totally, completely.