Awl In

ZOE EBO • JULY 24, 2024

Have you ever heard the phrase “All in?" I’m sure you have. It’s most commonly understood in the context of gambling. As many of you know, gambling is a game of risk that involves paying money (betting) before the game even starts. And this investment is either lost or multiplied depending on whether or not the game is won. One can choose how much they want to invest, and they can walk away (or fold) at any time. But if they are very confident in their luck they can also choose to go All in, to put all of their money in the pot. Everything that one has earned up to that point for present and future use – everything – now rests in the fate of the game. Chills.

Let’s think about this in light of the Christian life. There is a similar decision that we all must make regarding what we do with the Lord.

As we walk alongside others who have given their hearts to the Lord and taste the fruit of their testimonies from walking with Him, this can lead to a desire for more of Him that can only be granted by a costly decision: to go all in.

Jesus gives us clear instructions to lay down our lives and follow Him, but what does this really mean? Perhaps you’re reading this and would observe that you are either wanting to do this, counting the cost, or believe you are already doing this. Whichever may be the case, I’m hopeful these reflections will help bring clarity to what it means to go all in.

In the book of Exodus there is an example of this concept that we can still learn from today. This example reflects God’s heart for relationship, which is something that hasn’t changed.

“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve you for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom…. But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life” (Exodus 21:1,5,6 NLT).

Very important! Note: the kind of slavery mentioned in this passage is not slavery as we understand it today. As clearly stated by God, the slave was to be set free in the seventh year regardless. The slave mentioned in this text is more like what we would consider an indentured servant.

That aside, the first thing to notice is that the servant’s decision to serve His master for life was made in freedom. After 6 years, the servant had the right to go free, and so this was a decision made not by force or obligation, but by choice.

Also important! Notice what prompted this decision. “I love my master, my wife, and my children. I do not want to go free.” Again, we don’t see a pressure to conform but rather a desire to remain in the household of his master.

As Jesus points out about human nature (Matthew 5:46-47) and John states about our relationship with Christ (1 John 4:10), our capacity to love only comes from receiving love.

So one can reason that this servant was motivated to stay because his master loved him. And on top of being loved the servant received blessings while serving in his household, a wife and children. Choosing freedom meant he would have to leave behind these blessings from his master’s household (v. 4), but he showed gratefulness for them by choosing to stay and embrace these blessings.

Here it is - once this decision was made, there was no turning back. All in. It was a decision for life. He would never go back to his old ways of striving to provide for his needs or to build a life for himself. He entrusted his needs, his future, and his identity– everything – to the loving care of his master.

So, in light of the example of the servant above, Jesus is calling us to a beautiful exchange of a temporary existence in the flesh for an eternal one with Him. What does this joyful surrender look like for us? Faith, hope, and love in Christ alone (1 Corinthians 13:13).

This means our lives are no longer our own. Our rights to be self-sufficient are now surrendered to the will of our Master, Who desires everyone to come to know Him and receive eternal life (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:2). So all our faith, what we put our trust in, no longer comes from plans that we make (James 4:13-15), the perspective that we see (2 Kings 6:15-17), nor from earthly comforts and old ways of living (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Our next steps, our perspective, our provision and vindication all come from our new Master. As a servant in His household, our source of life is no longer dependent upon our efforts but on His faithfulness. And so our only option becomes to trust His heart.

Understand, this trust in Him shifts all our hope onto His promises. The things this world has to offer become strangely dim in comparison to knowing the goodness of God and all that He promises us. Our hope becomes less about pursuing fleeting pleasures and more about receiving life from Him and the blessings only He can give us.

This confident expectation enables us to be steadfast in believing in the Lord and obeying Him without seeing His hand, which is what hope is (Romans 8:24-25). For when it comes to God’s Word, it is not a matter of if it will come to pass, but when (2 Peter 3:9).

I close with this:

Our response to His goodness is not merely surrender to His ways, but to give Him all our love.

This must come from the heart. Our identity is no longer wrapped up in our accomplishments or mistakes, but in being a part of His household. Our goals are no longer to please ourselves, but to please the Master. Our passion becomes about nothing less than to see the joy of the Master. This is the beauty of a heart changed from being driven by discipline to delight in the Lord.

Understand, this is not a painless process, hence the picture we get from the servant whose ear was pierced with an awl. But as we move forward to carry our cross and abide in the love of Christ, this daily surrender becomes a public testimony to the goodness of Christ. And our desire to be with Him is more than mutual! It is a beautiful exchange of all of us for all of Him. And so Christ invites us to deny ourselves, our ways and our understanding, and receive from God the gift of eternal life, to go Awl in.