Jesus said the greatest commandment is you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30, NLT2). The operative word in this verse that has intrigued me for decades is “all.” How much us “all”? If I paid my utilities or any other bill, one penny short of the full amount my bill would remain unpaid. If I had even an emotional affair with a different woman than my wife, she would consider it adultery. “All” to a creditor means paying every cent, and to my wife it means keeping myself ONLY unto her.
To accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord means far more than you and me typically think. I can’t call Him my Lord (Master) if I fail to resign myself completely to His Lordship. That means surrendering all that I am to Him which makes you and I a servant and not the King. That is where the rub comes for each of us! Jesus modeled for each of us what that meant in more specific and practical terms. From Him I see it means surrendering my rights to my reputation ([He] made himself of no reputation (Phil. 2:7, KJV); surrendering my rights to choose my place of service As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem where He knew He would die (Luke 9:51, NLT2); surrendering my rights to my possessions “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Luke 9:58, NLT2); surrendering my rights to make demands [He] came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28, NLT2). To be clear, He gave His all for every one of us and asks each who intends to be His follower to do the same. His disciples understood that definition and followed His example of servanthood by giving their all.
When was Jesus most miserable while living on this earth? It was in the garden when in agony His humanity sweat great drops of blood while trying to negotiate His rights praying Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. That agony disappeared when He proceeded to say Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done (Luke 22:42, ESV) Whenever I get pushy, irritated, offended or defensive, it is my alarm system going off reminding me that I have inadvertently chosen to reclaim some of my rights I thought I had surrendered to Him. Those are also the times I have been most miserable and have made others around me miserable! It is noteworthy that as soon as Jesus’ humanity submitted to His Father’s will He was able to say only a few words when facing the extreme taunting and torture and crucifixion. One time it took me about a year and a half of passively resisting the Spirit’s call before I finally accepted God’s will. When I finally did, I experienced His incredible power working in and through me. It is true, a seed must die before it can live and becomes fruitful. (John 12:24)
No one is immune to experiencing the constant battle of our self-nature arguing with our Creator about things related to our precious personal rights. The best way to minimize that conflict is to proactively seek to live in authentic humility before God and man. The rewards far exceed the pain to our ego at the end of the day. He allows and even empowers us to experience FAR MORE pleasure and satisfaction in life than if we would have insisted on fighting for our puny rights. Remember this fact, Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20, ESV).
Love it.
Very timely for my own story. Thank you!