EVERYTHING

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. -Matthew 6:33

Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. –Matthew 6:4

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”  -Matthew 19:26

The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. –John 3:35

So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there. –Mark 14:16

And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. -Luke 5:11

So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.  - Luke 5:28

So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. –Luke 14:33

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. –Acts 4:32

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. –Romans 8:28

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? –Romans 8:32

For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. –1 Corinthians 2:2

You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. –1 Corinthians 10:23

In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. –2 Corinthians 6:4

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Ephesians 5:20

Do everything without complaining and arguing. –Philippians 2:14

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. –Philippians 4:13

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. –Philippians 3:8

You know what I found out today? God uses the word “everything” a LOT in His word.  My initial reason to look up verses with the word “everything” in it was to find a verse to illustrate what God asks of us.  But then I started seeing verse after verse of how God gives everything to us and has given up everything for us!  The word everything paints a limitless picture in my mind.  I guess you can say that God is an “All or Nothing” kind of god.  He didn’t let the partial sacrifices for sins go on for too long before His Son was sent to be the ultimate sacrifice for EVERYone.  His promises and what he revealed to man were never half true… everything he said came true!  He isn’t just the God of Rwanda and Indiana.  He is the God of everything and everything is in his hands. 

In the same way that God gives us “all or nothing”, doesn’t it make sense that our response would be all or nothing as well?  If you are like me, you probably compartmentalize your life into God sections and Me sections.  “God, here you go… I’d like you to take my relationship problems this week, but I will hold onto my pride issues for now. Thanks for your cooperation!”  I think God gets a good giggle when I do that.  It’s a bit intimidating to think we should “leave everything behind” to follow Jesus, however, doesn’t God give us every reason to trust Him with everything in our lives?  My favorite verse from above is the last one. Paul says that “everything (including the things he valued the most) was WORTHLESS when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  What would happen if I lived that everything-ism out?  Might I live like Paul? His words weren’t empty.  His life, as recorded in the Bible, was a direct reflection of those words.  He preached the Gospel in prison while basically waiting to be executed, and still writing letters about the joy of the Lord to believers all over. 

God hasn’t held back anything from us.  Salvation and a fruitful life of truth is available for everyone.  Everything is in his power.  Everything is his creation.  Everything happens for His glory!  Is God asking too much of us?  Maybe our minds can’t wrap around the word “everything”.  For me, I want to give God everything and to live for Him in every way… but my selfishness seeps in and makes it difficult to continue on the upward climb of constant giving to God.  I pray that you and I would be made more aware of the everythings we are selfishly restraining from God.