February 5, 2024

Some years ago, I had a really funny pre-marital counseling session. The couple were young adults marrying for the first time. As I talked through some of the items that all couples need to think about, I brought up finances. The guy quickly said, “We’ve got that one all figured out.” I said, “That’s great! What’s your plan?” The guy said, “Well, we’re going to figure up all the bills, and she’ll pay half out of her income, and I’ll pay half out of my income. We’ll each keep the rest to spend on whatever we want.” I said, “That sounds fair. But I think you might run into some problems.” “What’s that?” he asked. I said, “Well, my guess is by the nature of your jobs that you make more than she does. So let’s say you make $3000 a month, and she makes $2000 a month. Then, let’s say your bills total up to $4000 a month. You both put in $2000, and then you have $1000 to spend on whatever you want, and she has nothing to spend. How will you guys feel about that?” The young woman quickly glared at the guy and said, “I wouldn’t like that at all!” We proceeded to work on a different approach.
What you discover in marriage is that it isn’t a 50/50 proposition. It’s 100/100. Both husband and wife need to be “all in.” Otherwise, things start going awry. Same with God. God doesn’t ask us to give him only a token of commitment. He asks us to go “all in.” He wants us to love Him, heart, soul, mind, and strength. In other words, to love Him with everything we have and everything we are. And that’s only fair. After all, He loves us the same way. He gives us all of who He is in exchange for all of who we are. Half-hearted love kills marriages. It kills our walk with God as well.
How about it? Are you ALL IN with God? Are you seeking to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength? Just like when you get married, I’ve discovered I’ve had to learn what that means along the way. But I’ve also discovered that God will constantly bring me to those places where I’m not loving Him as fully or passionately as I should, and lovingly asks me to love Him more. Make that YOUR prayer today. Thank God for being “all in” for you and commit to Him that you’ll be “all in” for Him. That’s what real love and relationships are made of. That’s God’s Word for you today.