Today’s thought is personal and all about the key word, separate. This word basically means to keep something apart from something else, to divide, move apart, or things that are not connected. Jesus calls for anyone who desires to follow Him to be separated from what He describes as a life of sin that produces death.  Romans 6:23 reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We cannot tell Jesus that He can have our hands but not our eyes. Jesus you can have my heart but not my mind. I will give you 30 minutes of my time. In God’s economy, it does not work like that. Jesus requires all of me and all of you. A familiar passage in Luke 9:23 says, “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” The act of self-denial and prioritizing Jesus’ path over our personal desires is daily, moment by moment, minute by minute. Surrendering your will involves making much of Jesus.

To fully embrace the concept of “All of Me”, we must not only surrender our will and priorities to Jesus, as just stated in Luke 9:23, but also love Him with our whole being. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” We cannot love God with half of a heart, half of a mind, or half of an obedient life. You and I must be fully committed to living our lives on Jesus’ terms.

To put this into practice, we need to actively live according to God’s commands. Jesus simply said in John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” This is genuine love when you and I put our words into action.

Finally, an “All of Me” lifestyle is developed through a relationship with Jesus, nurtured by prayer and study of the Scriptures. When we think about the strength and the truth of God’s word, we will remember that Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” When it comes to prayer, one of my favorite short but powerful scriptures on prayer simply says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Never stop praying.”

Remember, Jesus did not sacrifice His life in order for you to give certain portions of your life to Him. He desires and deserves all of us.