Around our house, if I want a special treat, I generally have to hide it. If I don’t, my kids or beautiful wife will plunder my goods and leave me the crumbs. Usually, it’s not a big deal, but sometimes I want to keep some things for myself. I work hard, I can be a little selfish, right?
I think we do this with God a lot. We can think He is too demanding, too controlling, unfair, or any number of things. We want to reserve a part for ourselves—hide it away and make it our secret indulgence. I’ve given up so much already, we think. I’m holding on to this.
With my wife, I made a commitment before God that I would be given to her and she would be given to me. No reserves. No separation. When we had kids, they came under that same covenant.
The same is true of God. I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, saw my sin and shame, then accepted His plan of salvation as I surrendered my life and followed Him. I gave myself fully to God as He had already done for me. No reserves. No separation.
Somewhere down the line, we hope or assume that everything can’t possibly mean everything. When Jesus said that we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, surely He didn’t mean every little thing. Quick, someone get a Greek and Hebrew dictionary—maybe we can study our way out of this!
Nope, everything means everything. The world cries out for balance and somehow that’s crept into our spiritual lives as well. If we truly understand, the balance the world craves is only found in total surrender—the same surrender we offered God in exchange for His grace and salvation. Please understand that I’m not advocating burning ourselves out, but then again, how much of what we do is directly related to obedience and how much is our own thoughts or ambitions? Perhaps that’s a completely different post.
We are taught and encouraged to “balance,” to engage but not get too close. Yes, because that’s exactly what Jesus did (please feel the sarcasm dripping from that statement).
My friend Katdish commented on yesterday’s post,
It's easy for some to write a check and pretend that's all the God requires. But the reality is that life is messy. People are messy. God wants us to put aside our own comfort [and] get a little messy ourselves.
This is what God has done for us, but we are reluctant to live for ourselves. That’s because that’s His life we’re living and not our own—it's hard and painful. We’re told if we feel things too deeply we need to disengage. Many well-meaning people told my wife and I this with foster parenting, but those little ones deserved our best and full commitment no matter how messy it was (if you didn’t read my recent post about some of this, click here).
The truth is we know we can do the minimum and get the applause of man, but God is not impressed and that should break our heart. No, I’m convinced now more than ever that everything does in fact mean everything. I don’t want to disengage when it gets messy and hard. I want the fullness of His love expressed through me, which to me is a scary statement to make that I don’t take lightly.
ShareThis
