This past weekend I had the wonderful privilege of being the worship leader for the Ohio District Senior High Youth Gathering. The weekend was packed with fun and excitement. We gathered for song. We spent some time unwinding with games. We were able to serve the community in a variety of different ways. We listened to Pastor Matt Popovits bring some terrific news about how God went all in for us. Then we experienced how Jesus is all in for us through worship with communion.
The theme for the weekend was All In, and we focused three different aspects of what that means. The first aspect of all in was that Jesus went all in for me. The point here is that no matter what happens in my life Jesus gave everything for me. He didn’t do it get anything from me. Didn’t expect anything in return from me. He just did it to show how much he loved me. As we talked about Jesus being all in for me we dealt with our desire to perform. A common theme in our lives is that we need to be the best, most successful person out there. But Jesus doesn’t love us for our performance, he loves us because he loves us. It’s really that simple. An easy way to think about this is that there’s nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there’s nothing you can do to make God love you any less.
The second way that All In applies to our lives is that we’re all in this together. The message here is that in our fears and failures we don’t have to walk it alone. We need to remember that not only did God love us by giving his son for us but also by giving us one another. Now when we are filled by fear and overcome by anxiety we have a family of other people who can walk alongside us and encourage us and lift us up. At the close of day 2 we prayed for one another. I want to remind you all how precious you are. The things with which you struggle are not yours to carry alone. Find those peers, youth workers, pastors, your parents, or even me. Talk to someone. Share your burdens. Let someone walk beside you through the difficult moments and invite them to celebrate with you.
The third piece of All In dealt with our own personal lives. When we hear God’s call to go all in, it often means that we have to let a piece of us go. It means that we need to put our own agenda aside and take up the life that God has called us to live. This can be hard. And we have to make sure we understand it properly. He’s not saying to go all in so that I love you. Instead he’s saying I love you and I’d love for you to go all in with me. There’s a pretty significant difference.
Our love of God and our service for him doesn’t earn anything. It doesn’t get him to look on us with more love. It doesn’t make God love us more. And the reverse is also true. Not following God doesn’t mean he loves us less. Remember that piece from earlier? There’s nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there’s nothing you can do to make God love you any less. It’s the absolute truth.
Nothing in all of creation can change God’s love for you. The bible even says so, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.
I was beyond privileged to worship alongside these wonderful people. They are the church of tomorrow for certain but more importantly they are the church of today! And they give me hope for the church. You rock guys! Let’s go all in together.
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