David Platt once wrote, “Plainly put, a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior, and exclusive devotion.” Is this how you would describe your relationship with Jesus? When I hear or read statements like this, I get excited. This is exactly the life I want to live. I want to be so committed to Jesus others cannot help but know. Such radical obedience and devotion stir something deep inside me.
I know it is for this I was created. Knowing why you are here on this earth will motivate you like nothing else. But alas, I cannot claim my relationship with Jesus is characterized by total, superior, and exclusive devotion to Him. Despite knowing this is the deepest yearning of my heart, I fall short again and again.
Perhaps you can relate. Or, maybe you’ve never given your life to Jesus in such an unabashed way. Regardless, I believe without a doubt each of us is called to live our lives with total, superior, and exclusive devotion to Jesus. We are all invited to this, but few will be chosen (Matthew 22:14). While Christ would have everyone come to know Him in such a way, the truth is most will never surrender to Him in this manner. We don’t have the stomach for it. To give up everything to follow Jesus would cost too much in terms of our freedom and independence. We love Him, but not that much. We’ll serve him, but not at any cost.
This breaks my heart. It crushes me when I see it in myself and it overwhelms me when I look at a world full of so-called Christians who refuse to go all in with their Savior. If you want to know what breaks my heart more than anything it’s nominal Christianity in my own life and in the world at large. It’s people who claim to follow Jesus but refuse to live their lives wholly devoted to Him. It breaks my heart to see those who profess to follow Christ but live their lives mired in mediocrity. We are called to so much more. Equipped with the power of God Himself, we were not designed to settle for being average and living in the status quo. We were designed to impact our world with the beautiful and astounding message of Jesus.
The truth is we will never live up to our potential, we will never become the person we were created to be unless and until our relationship with Jesus is one of total, superior, and exclusive devotion to Jesus. We cannot serve him halfheartedly. We cannot give Him some of our life. It simply does not work this way. Jesus said it was all or nothing (Luke 9:57-62). We either leave everything behind or we leave Jesus behind. We choose. The cost was not too high for Jesus to forsake everything for you and me. Will you consider the price too high to forsake everything for Him?