Smitten by the All

Smitten by the All.  1 Timothy 2.1-7

Hello. 

Today I find myself smitten by the all.  In a day and age when moderation is highly prized, and being politically correct is the expectation, the absolute value of giving all stands out like never before. My Dylan is an ALL OUT kinda person—has been since he was four and half years old. I have seen it over and over as he has set his sights on some goal and went all out to achieve it.  One such time was when he was 15 years old and a sophomore--he realized he had an outside chance of becoming the Varsity soccer goalkeeper, even though the guy who had the job was a senior.  Over that summer, he rode his bike to the gym in the wee hours to lift weights; he pestered me to enroll him in ultimate fighting and boxing classes to increase his strength and hand/eye speed and coordination.  At 15, he watched what he ate, trained like his life depended on it—gave his all so that he might win the starting goalkeeping position.  By Christmas, he had done it.  Some times when we run across someone who gives his ALL, we realize we are observing someone who just may be on the edge of greatness. Yes, I am smitten by the All.

All.  Paul told us to pray for ALL men … for ALL who are in authority.  And God desires that ALL be saved, because Jesus gave himself as a ransom for ALL . . . take a look:

[God our Savior] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1 Timothy 2.4-7

Love is like that, you know.  It is big…big enough for ALL. Yup, God’s love has both the desire and the capacity to embrace all.  But truly … doesn’t it seem our understanding of God’s love is really quite anemic?  Paul instructs Timothy to pray for ALL men, which would mean not just those we know and love personally or in whom we have a vested interest.  And pray for the governing authorities, ALL of them, no matter how evil or corrupt; yes, ‘even when under the tyrannical, maniacal rule of Nero’, Paul reminds Timothy. 

It is God’s heart that ALL would be saved.  Saved.  Just the other day, I referenced the word at Bible study, along with ‘born again.’  (Not sure, but I think I saw a woman bare her teeth!) Getting saved or being born again refers to the same thing—coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  But somewhere along the line, the word “saved” has gotten a bad rap.  Is it because people associate it with loud, finger-pointing televangelists?  Perhaps.  Is it because people link ‘getting saved’ with legalism or judgmental religious behavior, or God forbid, hypocrisy? 

Jesus explained to the Jewish religious leader, Nicodemus, what it meant to be born again.1  In almost the same breath, he said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”2  ‘See the word ‘save’?  In addition, don’t forget that ‘Jesus, J-e-s-u-s’ was not the given name of the Messiah. Jesus is the ‘English-ized’ (anglisized) name for the Aramaic name ‘Yeshua,’ meaning simply, the source of salvation.

It does not say anywhere in Scripture that you ‘must receive Jesus as your personal Savior’, but when we make a personal decision—not one made by our parents or anyone else—an individual decision, to invite Jesus to lead our lives …. Well then, we enter into a friendship with the living Lord, and that, my dear ones, is personal! 

Cool!  Where do I go to sign up?  Do I need to call in, or fill out an entry form, or get baptized?  Paul had it right 2000 years ago—confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…

Just tell God,

         “I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was,

         That I need what he did for me on that cross,

         and that through him, I can know you, God.

         Please help me learn to follow you.    

         Forgive me of my sins.  Make me clean again.     Amen.”  

Did you pray that prayer?  Well then… Yes!  Yes, you have been saved.  Jesus gave his all, and he invites you to go all in for him.  

I don’t know about you, but I am smitten by the ALL … the all Jesus gave for me, and well, my response is to go ALL IN for him.