Going All In for Christ: What It Really Means in Your Relationships

Going All In for Christ: What It Really Means in Your Relationships

When Jesus called his first disciples, they made a radical decision that changed everything. The Bible tells us that when Jesus said, "Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men," they immediately left their nets and followed him. No negotiations, no backup plans, no guarantees about their future - just complete surrender.
This is the kind of commitment God calls us to today. Not partial discipleship or convenient Christianity, but wholehearted surrender that transforms every area of our lives.

What Does Going All In Actually Mean?

Going all in for Christ means dying to self-interest and self-will, counting no cost too great, and trusting God completely with the outcome. The disciples had bills to pay, families to feed, and responsibilities to meet, yet they chose to trust in the voice of the One who called them.
As Jim Elliot famously said: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." This should be our guiding principle when making decisions about our commitment to Christ.

How Going All In Affects Your Marriage

The Biblical Standard: Total Covenant
The biblical standard for marriage isn't partial commitment - it's total covenant. Genesis 2:24 tells us that "a man should leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they become one flesh."
This means several crucial things:

Leaving Father and Mother: When you marry, your parents' role shifts from authority to advisory. They should only be involved in your marriage when you specifically ask for their advice, not imposing their will on your decisions.
Forsaking All Others: This isn't just about sexual fidelity - that's elementary. It includes emotional fidelity, where your spouse receives your deepest intimacy, not another person.
No Backup Plans: The world tells people to enter marriage with exit strategies. As Christians, we enter marriage with one ticket in - no comparative thinking, no secret plans, no mental rehearsals of what we'll do if things don't work out.

What Lukewarm Marriage Looks Like

Lukewarm marriage gives only what's convenient, what doesn't cost too much, and what doesn't interfere with personal plans. This creates division where there should be unity and prevents couples from experiencing the joy God designed for marriage.

Going All In with Your Family

Generational Faithfulness
Ephesians 6:4 commands fathers: "Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." This isn't just basic discipline - it's training children in God's precepts and character.
Proverbs 22:6 promises that when we "train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it." This training refers specifically to God's ways and principles.

Present Engagement is Required
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 reveals the key to effective parenting: present engagement. God's word should first be in the parents' hearts, then taught diligently to children, "when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."
This requires being physically and emotionally present in your children's lives. You cannot have influence in their lives when you're never there. Working hard to provide for them is just the bare minimum - they need your time, emotional availability, and spiritual leadership.

Biblical Friendship: Covenant Relationships

Friends Who Love at All Times
Proverbs 17:17 defines biblical friendship: "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." This isn't convenient friendship - it's covenant friendship that stands strong through disagreements and difficult seasons.
True biblical friendship means being there when times get tough, not just when it's easy or convenient. These relationships are often orchestrated by heaven, and the enemy will work against them using our weaknesses.

Quality Over Quantity

Biblical friendship is about having a select few people you call covenant brothers or sisters - people you would go all out for without question, and who would do the same for you.

The Problem of Misplaced Priorities

The Laodicean Church's Real Issue
The church in Laodicea wasn't failing in obvious sins like adultery or theft. Their problem was misplaced priorities - they prioritized wealth, comfort, and self-sufficiency over Christ.
This is often our struggle, too. We think certain things are important to God that actually aren't important to heaven at all. We need to reassess our priorities and align them with what truly matters to God.

Seek First the Kingdom
Matthew 6:33 gives us the solution: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." The amplified version puts it as "seek God's way of doing things and being right."
This is about the kingdom first in everything we do. It's not that God doesn't want us to work, have goals, or succeed - it's about the order and motivation behind these pursuits.

Your Work is Worship
First Corinthians 10:31 reminds us that "whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Your work isn't separate from your worship - it IS your worship to God.
Whether you're a doctor, taxi driver, teacher, or business owner, what you do with your hands is your worship experience to God. The question isn't whether you should work, but who you're ultimately working for.

Life Application
This week, examine these three critical areas of your life through the lens of going all in for Christ:
In your marriage: Are you fully present emotionally, or do you have one foot out the door? Does your spouse have your full attention and respect?
With your children: Are you providing just the minimum (money and basic needs), or are you fully present with time, emotional availability, and spiritual leadership?
In your friendships: Do you love sacrificially, or only when it's convenient? Have you identified who your true covenant friends are?
Remember, half-hearted relationships produce half-hearted lives and dishonor the God who gave Himself completely for us. When we go all in, we experience the fullness of the relationships God designed - the intimacy, joy, and deep connections that lukewarm commitment can never produce.

Questions for Reflection:

• What self-interests are stopping you from going all in for Christ's call on your life?
• In which relationship area (marriage, family, or friendship) do you need to move from lukewarm to fully committed?
• How can you prioritize God's kingdom first in your current goals and pursuits?
• What would change in your relationships if you truly went all in the way Christ calls you to?