I’m not a poker player but I’ve heard a well-turned phrase associated with the game…”All In.” That got me to thinking the other day about a lot of things that phrase applies to other than poker, and the one that stuck in my head concerned a verse from 1 Peter…

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 

Jesus proclaimed His bride a “chosen generation” (a race, a kind) and a “royal” (to act as a shepherd; to keep sheep) “priesthood” (the whole body of believers, not a special order among them). His own people… those He “chose out” or selected; Matt 22:14 Many are called but few are chosen. Jesus calls and when we choose we become His chosen ones, and that leaves the response up to us. You might say, what is our response when the Holy Spirit “calls” our bet?

That is our Savior’s view… He is “All In” with us… but are we “All In” with Him? Recently I’ve had to take a long hard look at that question.

I have struggled with whether or not I am what I ought to be in His eyes, and that has generated a real self-centered focus, which is the complete opposite view from His. It’s a view that has a direct impact on my relationship with Jesus because it is the “safe” view. It is anything but being “All In!” And so I have spent some time trying to understand just what that expression means; to me and to Jesus.

At the end of the day it all came down to whom I am making my commitment. If it’s to me, then I am holding back some of myself (my chips) and I am hedging my bet. I am not truly convinced that I hold a winning hand… the hand that Jesus has dealt me. If I was truly “All In,” then I would be fully committed with total belief and trust in Him. I would be fully confident in Him and not give any thought to myself, fully trusting in the “life” that He has chosen for me here on earth. A life that is perfectly designed for my individual, specific spiritual growth. A life that is a guaranteed winner because Jesus has already guaranteed the outcome with His “All In” sacrifice for me.

Every time, when this life calls our bet, we need to have already made the decision to go “All In.” We need to have fully committed all of who we are to Jesus, the One who is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). Let’s face it, it’s “not” a game with an uncertain outcome that we are playing. No, it’s an eternal relationship that we are walking out, one day at a time… one hand at a time. 

Our daily decision can be nothing other than “All In” because we “know” (fully understand and believe) that we hold the winning hand, we hold Jesus’ hand.