The Christian rapper, Flame, has a song called All In that I love to blast when I’m in my ‘gangsta Jesus’ mood. The concept of being ‘all-in’ is a term borrowed from the card game of poker. It means that a player has bet it all by putting all of his or her chips into the pot and has no plays left. The song always challenges me to put it all on the line for Jesus.
There are so many ways in which I still hold back from a full throttle, all or nothing, radical pursuit of Christ and yet I am decidedly dissatisfied with the state of my spiritual life. In this contradiction of what I’m willing to give versus what I want to get, the truth is laid bare; the only one holding me back is… me.
What am I willing to give to God? A few minutes of my time in the morning. A little percentage of my salary each month. Off and on obedience when it’s convenient to my agenda. A lukewarm commitment to loving people unconditionally. These little scraps of my life are not what God is yearning for. He wants me to be all-in. He wants me to entrust my life completely into His service and care in the ultimate union of God and man. This is what He wants for all of us.
He said, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”. God wants everything. His fullness is reserved for those who will devote themselves to Him completely. There are no half-measures with God.
Perhaps, the thing that is hindering me most from more of God’s presence in my life right now; the thing that He most wants me to let go of in this season; is my dignity. My dignity is the chip that I still have tightly clutched in my fist. The dictionary defines dignity as the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect. I don’t tell strangers about Jesus or pray for healing for them because I don’t want to look foolish. I want to maintain my dignity. That’s the truth.
But I pray like the early church fathers did for greater faith and greater boldness! I pray that I would step out of my comfort zone and risk it all that the name of Christ may be lifted up!
Are you all-in? What’s holding you back from a ‘no holds barred’ pursuit of Christ? Let it go! Give it all! Let us stir each other up to do great exploits for God! I would love if you would share a testimony of how God turned up when you took a risk? It would really encourage me and others to step out in faith as well.
Joyfully,
Copyright 2018, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.