We live right by the coast. So, each summer my family ends up at the beach quite often. No matter the weather, my kids love it. It doesn’t have to be hot for my kids to want to dive into the waves. In fact, as soon as the summer sun starts to peak through the rainclouds of late spring, they’re both begging to throw on their swimsuits and hit the beach.
I too love the beach, but I often find the sea water still too cold for my liking. Last week, halfway through summer, my daughter asked me why I don’t like to go swimming.
“I love swimming,” I answered. “Didn’t we just go swimming at the beach last weekend?”
She said, “No, mamma. I went swimming. Daddy went swimming. You didn’t go swimming. You just stood in the water. Your hair wasn’t even wet. To swim, you have to actually go all the way in.”
My daughter was right. If I didn’t leave the beach that day with salty, wet hair, a piece or two of seaweed between my toes, and my eyes stinging just a little from the salty sea water, I didn’t truly go swimming. I had merely dipped my toes in. I wasn’t all in—not all of me.
Growing up, however, I went through quite a few phases of being “all-in.” These were phases where it felt like I lived and breathed whatever my newest obsession was. From boybands to books, every couple of years I wholeheartedly devoted myself to something (or someone) new. I imagine that you may be able to relate, and that you or someone you know went through their own phases growing up. Maybe you were a Belieber or maybe someone you know faithfully collected every single Beanie Baby available. We all can probably think of something to which—at one time in our lives—we felt devoted.
But if we’re honest with ourselves, I think we’ll find that though we might have outgrown many of the things we were devoted to as kids or teens, we haven’t outgrown the pull to live devotedly. Maybe we chase acceptance, devote ourselves to being the best mother/wife/friend we can be so that others will love and want us. Maybe we’re pursuing comfort and stability, devoting ourselves to budgets or jobs that can provide us with the peace we think will come from financial stability. Maybe we’re running after recognition and accomplishments, devoting ourselves to proving our worth to others through what we can achieve on our own. And as we wrestle with staying committed to a myriad of things, we find ourselves exhausted trying to be all-in, all the time, to all the things. But we can’t be all-in, wholly devoted and deeply committed to everything. And we’re not called to be, either.
We were created to be all-in for the One who went all-in for us.
Being all-in for God means you are all-in for God with all that you are. That’s it. It means that all those other desires or pursuits we want to follow will begin to pale in comparison as we pursue God, and that we’ll find ourselves only wanting them if they are aligned with God’s desires for us. While sometimes we are in fact pursuing good things that the Lord provides as blessings—friendships, family, community, etc.—apart from God none of these things can truly hold our undivided affection because none of them are worthy of our devotion.
It’s easy to say that we’re wholly devoted to God, but our affections are deeply tied to our actions. I can’t call it swimming if I’m not actually diving all the way in, letting my hair get wet. We can’t claim to be committed to God if we’re not obeying Him and giving up all other masters in order to fix our eyes solely on Jesus. It seems like a daunting task, and honestly, we can’t do it alone.
By the grace of God, though, we don’t have to. As we see in Solomon’s benediction at the temple, it is God who turns our hearts to Him, to walk in obedience and keep His commands (1 Kings 8:58). In His infinite holiness God is the only one worthy of our undivided devotion, and in His merciful grace He turns our hearts away from all that is unworthy and gives us the strength to run to Him each and every day. Our hearts can be fully committed to the Lord because He has first pursued our hearts, fixing them on His worthiness and setting our desires toward Him.
If we are truly all-in for God, if we are wholly devoted to Him—heart, soul, mind and strength— it will be obvious and apparent to others around us. We’ll joyfully follow His decrees, abiding in them. And as we obey His commands, abiding, we do so not to earn His favor, but with gladness of heart, in thanksgiving, for everything He has already promised and freely gives us through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It won’t look like we’ve simply dipped our toes in the sea of God’s worthiness. Others around us should be able to smell and see the “salty” glow of spending time with our Creator as we dive fully into His love and embrace.
