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Apr 19, 2023 18:30pm

Are You All In?

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She stood by the pool, hands balled up under her chin as she nervously stared down at the water. She wanted so badly to get in, but fear was overtaking her.

I was in the pool, trying to reassure my niece that it would be fine. I would be right there to catch her, she just had to take that step. She had come a long way and she was at the water’s edge. She was so close! But she had to make the decision to get in. At the present, she was still dry and her feet were planted firmly on the ground. The only way she could be a swimmer was to take that step and jump in. She couldn’t just dip her toe in the water. Can you imagine calling someone a swimmer if they never actually swam? It’s not possible.

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34 NIV)

Not far from the kingdom of God. What does this mean?

It meant, he was close, standing at the edge of the pool, but he had to take that next step in order to be all in.

He was willing to admit that what Jesus was saying was truth, but would he commit his life to it? Would he surrender to the authority and power of Jesus?

It didn’t matter how close he was, he would never be a part of God’s kingdom unless he believed in Jesus.

We may say all the right things, clean ourselves up, do away with sinful things, but that only gets us to the edge. Unless we take that step and trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we will never be part of His kingdom. We will never be a Christian, a true follower of Jesus.

Close doesn’t count. Are you all in? Today is the day to take that next step!