Are You "All In" for God?

Anyone who is a fan of Football and other sports or is a voter in elections as they draw near, finds that the participants in these events may be described as being “All In” for their participation in the “cause”.

What does that phrase really mean and what should it mean to us who confess to being and living as a Christian? This phrase has its origins in the game of Poker and referred to a player putting all of their remaining money on the bet. If you look up the phrase you may find various definitions of it, but basically it means a willingness and determination to give all that you have to obtain something. As a Christian we know that what we want is eternal bliss with our Lord. Where we fall short is the “give all you’ve got” part of this.

What first comes to mind is WWJD (What would Jesus do?) or live like Jesus, or some other expression like that. Unfortunately, we Christians “know” that Jesus was God. We “know” that we can’t quite live up to that, so we just don’t have to try as hard, and we will be okay with God. Maybe we could take an example from one of the Disciples or the Saints of Christendom. But as Christians we know that those Disciples lived with Christ, and they knew what to do – except for Judas. We know that the Saints (not the football team) all heard a calling, and that’s why they must have done what they did. All of these are very proper excuses for each of us to use in trying to justify ourselves for falling short before God. So how can we break out of our “proper” Christian mindset? Fortunately, we have the information that we need in the Bible to break our cycle of “I’m a believer, I’m just not a doer”. Let’s start by taking a look at one of the two books in the bible that don’t even mention God.

The book of Ester is about the Persian king Xerxes who banishes his Queen Vashti and gives her royal position to a young women named Esther. Unknown to the King she was part of the Jewish infestation that was in his kingdom. The story is one of intrigue and betrayal but in the end, you can feel that God is directing what happens. The important point is that the young Jewish woman risked the loss of everything, including her life, to save her fellow Jews. Her courage to worship and serve God and her people over the cost of her life is not only inspiring, but also shows how a believing person should act in remaining true to who they are and what they believe. Ester was “all in” in the way she lived Her life.

This story brings to mind the words “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” in the service of God (Mk 12:30). As we train for the battle in our earthly lives, we must be strong of heart (courage), strong of mind (clearness of thought) and protecting our soul by right thoughts and actions. We are strong of heart when we have right thoughts and actions (Ps 125:4, Prov 17:22, Lk 6:15, Lk 8:15-16, 1 Ti 1:5). We know that love depends on your heart and your faith, by the good deeds that you are doing and by the words that you are speaking (2 Th 2:16-17). To even do what we should do requires us not to fear, not to have minds that are undecided or minds that are unsure. To achieve that requires us to have wisdom which can be enhanced by scripture, and we must also concern ourselves with the concerns of God (1 Th 5:14, Ja 2:14, 1 Ti 5:8, Ph 2:3-4, Lk 24:45).

You may never achieve sainthood, but like Esther you can live your life and will have many opportunities to speak not as yourself but as a Christian, to think as a Christian, and to live as a Christian. All our lives we are preparing for our life after life. We thank God that He is forgiving, and if we turn to Him, He will help us through all by His Grace.

The Disciple group suggests that you choose something about yourself, that you do, that keeps you from knowing God better. Then through prayer and scripture find a way forward to change what you do, so that what you do will be more pleasing to God.

If you consider yourself to be a Christian and wish to better know God, yourself and live a more tranquil life, consider joining us in the Disciple group. See the Pastor for information.