All-In

Humanity would be in a mess if Christ only came for one type of person - the rich, the educated, the popular, the political savvy, the religious minded and so forth. 

When you examine the life of Jesus, the Son of God - one might think that because He is the Only Son of God that He would receive a more royal and fanfare welcome into this world than a birth in a manger in a stable. However, His first visitation was prophesied to arrive this way. He was also foretold not to be anything to behold and associated with suffering and pain. The prophet Isaiah said it this way many years before Christ came on the scene - 

"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." - Isa. 53:2-3

In addition to Christ's lowly arrival and His unattractive appearance and life - the people He mixed with and gravitated toward were not the kind of people one might think The King of all creation, The Messiah, would be seen conversing with. However, Jesus went so far as to have the same kind of people become part of His inner circle - His disciples. These individuals were fishermen, tax collectors and common people. Jesus, Himself, was a carpenter.

Notice who He did not hang out with. Not that Jesus did not love or care for these people, but He knew what they had to sacrifice, He knew what they would never give up. People like the aforementioned religious leaders of the day (Pharisees and Sadducees), political movers (Pilate, Herod, Caesar), popular people (Olympic athletes, winners of chariot races, etc), the rich (the rich man of Matt. 19:16-24) and the educated (philosophers of that day). 

What did Jesus claim about Himself that He thought the other parts of society would cling too? Jesus declared He was and is The Messiah, and not only the Savior of the Jewish people but "whosoever believes in Him" (John 3:16). He also proclaimed Himself as the only avenue to God by saying - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

There is no wiggle room in someone's belief of Jesus as personal Savior and Lord. And Jesus is looking for exactly those kind of people to join His family. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 in response to the question about the greatest commandment. The first half of the equation is that a believer in God, through Christ Jesus, will be sold out, all-in, fully committed, loyal, devoted, dedicated, and faithful to Christ because Jesus first loved us. The second part of the greatest commandment is that God's love and acceptance of us should propel us to love others. Jesus said it like this - 

"‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matt. 22:37-40

I believe this duo commandment is pretty clear - God desires ALL of your love. Notice the second commandment is not an exact duplicate, Jesus said "the second is like it". The difference between the two is that the neighbor of the second commandment does not receive our first and "all"-love, but because of our love for God and His love for us and within us - we love our neighbor as ourselves.

Is the charge for the Christian to live a holy life any wonder then? Peter challenges the believer with the words of God in 1 Peter 1:15 saying - "Be holy, because I am holy." This instruction was given in Leviticus three times by the Lord, and then re-emphasized by Peter here in his letter to scattered believers throughout the land. That is a pretty strong emphasis by the Holy Spirit to make sure this is communicated. I challenge and encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, be set apart as a person saved by grace and living by faith with a lifestyle that is not half-minded, half-hearted or half-anything - but instead All-In.