by David Brenneman
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
Deuteronomy 6:5-7.
"Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life." Mark 10:28-30.
"Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” Matthew 19:27.
"Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” Luke 18:28.
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ," Philippians 3:7-8.
What did the Disciples mean when they said they gave up everything to follow Jesus? What did that look like?
Do we really give our all to Jesus? Did we give up everything to follow Jesus?
Is our all on the altar or just what might be "religious" and we kept the rest?
These thoughts came to me yesterday while at work. It's something to really consider.
As a culture a great many people compartmentalize their lives. This box has home life in it, this one has work life in it. This one has the things we do for entertainment. This one inside the home one is split in various ways for family. Sometimes that is split with a joining boxes for friends.
Psychology goes further to really compartmentalize the past and the present. Things that hurt you from those that didn't.
The thing is Jesus wants all of us. Not just what either the world says He should get or what we decide He should be given. This lead me to consider just what did all mean to the Disciples when Peter uttered those words.
What did this look like? It's obvious that some of the Disciples were married. Yet they all went wherever Jesus went. They turned their full attention to whatever Jesus was going to teach them, the things that He would command them.
The path of a disciple of another in Jesus's day was one of 100% devotion. It was summed up in the blessing that accompanied those who were so engaged "May you be covered in the dust of your Master!". Following so closely to whom you were learning from that his dust of life fell on you completely.
What does this look like for us today? What is it supposed to look like? In Biblical reality...pretty much the same. Only for all who claim the Name of Jesus it's to be our following Jesus so closely that He is who the world sees.
What did the 12 give up? As Peter said...everything. Relationships with family and friendships might have been suspended since they wouldn't have been around them much, if at all. Their jobs as fisherman or tax collectors went to the wayside. Their attention was to be fully on the Lord Jesus Christ. Granted much of the path of the Disciples isn't going to be our path in our lives. We aren't in training to become Apostles. Nor can anyone become an Apostle.
We are, however, to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
In everything we do, say or think, it's to be done to the glory of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
As learned in weeks past, our lives aren't supposed to be Jesus and anything or anyone. It's to be Jesus.
We don't go to Jesus on Sundays or Saturdays or whenever our local church is meeting. We don't have a room in our house for Jesus to live in while we go live out life everywhere else. We should never be treating what the Spirit is teaching us as optional or as an accessory on our lives.
What was in their lived was what they needed to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
We are going to be shown many many things to add to our lives that the world says we need. These are all a trap. We probably will be heavily convinced that the things we hold onto in life aren't bad for us nor are they a hindrance to our life in Christ.
Consider this...on the night Jesus was betrayed...Peter and all the rest proclaimed that they would never abandon Jesus. Even though Jesus said that the Scriptures said they would. They were absolutely convinced. Peter's mind of defiance in this justified his actions until that cock crowed that second time. Only then did he see that his justifications were in error.
We don't look between the lines of the spiritual war these disciples were going through while training to become Apostles. We don't recognize the warfare in our own lives when we aren't looking for it.
It takes a great deal of effort to try to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus.
We like to think that the world is right in that we can have times and places where we can safely let our guard down. This isn't what we read in our Bibles.
The Disciples didn't learn that.
Praying without ceasing is exactly what it is saying. No gap denoting a starting point or stopping point.
Colossians 3:23-25 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality."
All the parables Jesus taught concerning how the workers that their Master put in charge while he was away and how diligently they were to carry out his instructions until he returned.
Seems that everything is everything. Just as all means all and that's all that all means.
If we're more inclined towards worldly desires and wants than we are in our lives being lived in obedience to God's Word and our growth in Christ then we are absolutely not giving Jesus our all. We aren't giving Him our entire everything.
How truly devoted are you to your life in Christ? Are you intentionally making time to be in prayer and in your Bible? That's what's important to Jesus so is it important to you?
Are you carrying yourself around as a follower of Jesus or do you really hide it in public?
In your home is Jesus welcome anywhere in it? If there are things in your life that aren't God honoring are you willing to acknowledge them as such and get rid of them?
If not, why not?
Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit means you giving your everything to a life that exudes Christ. It means our existence is wrapped up in our everything belonging to Jesus.
Trusting in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight means more than on certain occasions during the day or week. It certainly doesn't mean only when you are in trouble for if that's only when what God wants of you is important to you then you're already in deep trouble.
Really consider yourself what giving up everything means from God's perspective. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? What will he give in exchange for his soul?
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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