All or Nothing

With a title like All or Nothing, the theme of this post is obvious. The Lord Jesus Christ, the soon coming King, doesn't want lukewarm followers. He doesn't want  followers who abandon Him when things get rough or who are choked out by the cares of this world. He doesn't want followers who do things in His name but who don't have what He defines as a relationship with Him. And when you think about, this really is about how He sees things and what He wants, isn't it? It's not about Him doing things my way or Him having a relationship with me on my terms. This isn't about the Potter doing what the clay wants, the clay's way. This isn't about Him fitting into my comfort zone; this is about me fitting into His comfort zone. And His comfort zone is quite different from what lazy, rebellious, sinful, self-deceiving humans want it to be.

It's pretty clear. All or nothing.

 
I've been reading a lot of A.W. Tozer's writings the last couple of years. That amazing Brother passed away in 1963, but his writings on the state of modern Christianity and what it takes to be a true believer will cause you to take a deep, hard look at things. I've also been through a study of Francis Chan's "Crazy Love", published in 2008. It's so good! If you get a chance to read them for yourself, you should do it. Both of these men's writings have blended and stirred in my thoughts with things the Lord has been saying to me. They've both said these things far better than I can say them, but I feel like I'm still supposed to write this post.

All or nothing. 

 

At times, I think we all flirt somewhere in our hearts with seeing how far we can drift away from God without going over the edge. We may not say it in as many words, but we're tempted to ask how much can we get away with and still be "in". I don't know where God draws the line as we struggle with that flirtation, but I firmly believe that flirting with that temptation is already over the line. When I recognize that attitude inside me, even just a little bit, it's proof that in my heart of hearts I am not fully devoted to loving Him, my Creator, my Owner, my Saviour, my Lord, the way He wants. And that puts me back at square one: fully dependent on His grace, mercy, persistence, and determination to save me from myself.

Let's look briefly at some Scripture.

Revelation 3:14-21

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

Matthew 13:18-22

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

How many of us "good Christians" are expecting God to relate to us on our terms and judge us the way we want to be judged?  How many of us "good Christians" are expecting Him to be happy with however little or much of ourselves we choose to give Him? Jesus makes it clear that many folks who think they're doing okay will not stand on the Judgement Day. How many of us "good Christians" are fooling ourselves but not fooling God? How many of us "good Christians" will be on the wrong side of that line when it really counts?

We must ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and guide us into true, complete surrender. After all, it's not about having enough faith to surrender; it's about surrendering to a depth that allows true faith. Surrender walks hand-in-hand with faith but surrender somehow always remains slightly in the lead. My level of faith will never exceed my level of surrender.

I recall an old story I heard from a wonderful and gentle man of God, Pastor Hong Sit, from whom I learned so much so many years ago. As he told it, a wealthy man wanted to hire a new chauffeur from among three applicants. He had them one by one drive him along a narrow, twisting mountain road with sharp shoulders and even sharper drops down steep cliffs. The first driver had excellent skills; he was able to take the car at high speed around frightening turns, successfully missing the edge by no more than the width of a tire. The second driver had even better skills, taking the car even faster to within an inch or two of the edge, kicking dust out into the void. The third driver knew he could never compete on that basis; if he tried, he'd surely go over the edge. So he drove at a modest and steady pace, staying as far away from the edges as he could. The wealthy man immediately hired the third driver. He wanted someone who stayed as far away from disaster as possible.

Are we folks who want to see how close we can get to the edge without going over? I don't ever want to be that way, but I think we all do it at times. Because we are so good at deceiving ourselves, we must cry out for His grace and mercy to save us from ourselves and the deceitfulness of our own hearts.

All or nothing.

I've chosen with an act of my will to declare that I surrender to Him, fully and completely, even though my heart is not always united in that surrender. I don't always surrender because all of me feels like surrendering, at least not all of my feelings all of the time. I surrender -- scary or not and 100% united in my heart or not -- with an act of my will. I CHOOSE to surrender. With an act of my will, I CHOOSE to override every contrary, frightening feeling and declare with my mouth that He is my Saviour, my Lord, my King, my total and absolute Owner. I CHOOSE to give Him permission (as if He ever needs my permission!)  to do with me as He wants, when He wants, and how He wants, without ever owing me an explanation.

Is that a scary thing to do? It sure can be. Is it the right thing to do? Absolutely. I must trust Him to complete this good work He has begun in me; what other choice do I have?

No matter how much I try, no matter how much "Christian service" I perform, no matter how far along I think I am in this walk, I always have been and always will be fully dependent upon His mercy and grace. Whenever I think otherwise -- oh, look out, there's the edge! If you ever think that you are sufficient in yourself for even part of what Jesus calls a true Christian walk, you are doing so at your own peril.

As Paul wrote, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (II Corinthians 3:5).

Even in his assigned work for God as an Apostle and Evangelist to the Gentiles (a job at which he was very good), Paul's attitude was "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?" (II Corinthians 2:15-16).

All of this brings my thinking to Jesus' words recorded in Luke 18:9-10: 

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

All or Nothing. In humble surrender, All or Nothing, depending fully on His grace to make sure it's All.

It's so easy to live our lives as a fat-fingered typo, where what we give to the Lord Jesus is closer to All OF Nothing. Change me, Lord! Don't leave me the way You find me now! I choose ALL!