“All in” is a popular phrase today. It is a casual way to speak of commitment. We might say, “I’m all in on my favorite sports team.” Or, “I’m all in about my spiritual leadership role.”
But what if we added three more words to that phrase? I’m all in, “all the way.” Now we have upped the ante. Now we’re speaking of a commitment of the highest order—a commitment to see something through to its ultimate fruition.
As a leader, what are you giving your life to? What are you all in, all the way on? When your final days come, what will you be able to reflect on and say, “I gave it my all, all the way”?
The apostle Paul unequivocally gave his life to his Lord. Radically transformed by Jesus’ grace on the Damascus Road, Paul understood that the least he could do was give his life to the One who gave His life for him.
Perhaps Paul’s life seems too high and lofty to emulate. After all, he was an apostle! In the first verse of 2 Timothy, Paul said his life and ministry were all “by the will of God.” Get this: Paul was simply an ordinary man who surrendered his life to the will of God. He waved the white flag over his days and yielded to Jesus his will. This is what “all in” means: surrendering my life to Christ and to the will of God.
This is not mustering up enough of my will to do God’s will; it is laying down my will. Paul would not have lasted very long in the strength of his own will. Consider the trials, beatings, hardships, accusations, desertions, heartaches, and chains. Paul echoed the heart of his Savior: “Not what I will, but what You will.”
While “all in” means to surrender to the will of God, “all the way” means to continue to do so over the long haul of ministry and life.
In my nearly twenty years of pastoring, I have faced many critics, heartaches, hard decisions, and gut punches (along with countless joyous times). These have caused me to drop (literally) to my knees time and time again, to surrender my will. Pastoring would be a cakewalk if it were up to me—but it’s not. It is the Lord’s work, not mine. His will, not mine.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20 ESV).
Be encouraged, my friend, and do not fear surrender. It is the pathway to being all in, all the way.