All.
This word is so small, yet its meaning is so vast. I cannot remember ever being told the meaning of or looking up the definition of all, but I know what it means. In fact, if you were to ask me what the meaning of all is, I would answer with a hand gesture. (And I bet you can picture that gesture in your head , right now!)
All.
I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.
Psalm 34:1
When I read the word “all” in this verse it seems out of place. The psalmist aspires to praise the Lord at “all” times. The words “sometimes” or “often” seem more plausible to me. After all we are talking about all.
This verse, with its use of the word “all“, is quite overwhelming and, when I first read it, I thought, “I can’t ALLways praise the Lord, I have a lot to do. I can’t write about this verse.”
Six other verses in this psalm contain the word “all“— verses 2, 4, 6, 7 and, 9—and five of these six verses refer to God doing something.
Then it hit me.
My God is an ALL God. He’s not a “this and that” type of God. God wants an all relationship with me. Jesus said the greatest commandment is, “…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
Being the great example He is, God shows us what all means in a relationship.
For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only [all] son…
John 3:16a
With a sacrifice like this, I understand how Jesus can say, “In the same way any of you who does not give up everything [all] he has cannot follow me” (Luke 14:33).
And apparently, obeying this command is possible…the first disciples did it! In Luke 5:11 and 28, the verses read, “…left everything [all] and followed him.”
All. He wants it all.
The story about the rich young ruler can be found in Luke 18:18-30. This is a fairly well-known story. Jesus tells the man to sell everything [all] and follow Him, but the young man does not. At the end of the story Jesus says,
I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children [insert: all] for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.
Luke 18:29 and 30
We will be rewarded. All.
God has given us His all; in turn, He wants our all. Does He have your all?
* * * * *
Thank you, Father, that the vastness of “all” is not too much for the Holy Spirit to handle. Help us to not be overwhelmed and instead trust You in all we do and aspire to do. Amen.
