The Public-Schooled Christian

Note: this article doesn’t mention public school a lot, but it completely relates to living for Jesus in public school! I thought you would enjoy it even if it was a little broader than normal :).

The Bible is filled with “all-or-nothing” verses.  

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Luke 10:27), 

“Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23), 

“Sell all  that you have and give to the poor” (Mark 10:21).  

I love the thought of giving everything in relentless abandon to Jesus. But even though putting our faith in Jesus is a one-time decision, picking up our cross and following Him is a decision we have to make daily.  

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2: 3-4). 

There is always a temptation to give less than 100%, and Jesus is always calling us to give everything, as He gave everything for us.  

When We Don’t Give Our All 

Before we get to why it makes sense to give everything to Jesus, let’s talk about why we don’t give Him everything. I’ve made many excuses to not give everything to God. Maybe you have, too.  

“I know this song has a bad message and God might not want me to listen to it, but I really like it. What harm can it do?” 

“I really want to go out with my friends, but my siblings need my help with doing chores at home. Can’t they manage without me, though?” 

“Even though God tells me to honor my parents, they started this argument. Plus, I’m right—I’m not going to apologize.” 

All of those excuses are focused on self. When we hold back from giving everything to Jesus, it’s often because we feel like it would be more of an advantage to us if we just kept some of our life under our own control.  

But the creator of the universe knows much more about life than we do. 

Take heart, because you’re not the only one who may struggle with giving everything to God. Peter, one of the twelve disciples, also struggled with this.  

Peter often seems to be one of the most relatable disciples to me. He didn’t have a dramatic conversion like Paul. He wasn’t a brother of Jesus, and He didn’t seem like he was perfect. He was an ordinary man that God used in extraordinary ways.  

He was an ordinary man who made mistakes just like we make. When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Him three times. Why? Because He was scared and wasn’t thinking things through.  

He was scared to give everything because it may have seemed like Jesus couldn’t help him now that He was arrested. His Messiah had been seized and the outcome wasn’t looking good.  

He was scared to give everything just like we are scared that if we give up control, things will go badly. But in reality, when we let go of control over our lives is when we are set free to see God work through us in amazing ways.  

Peter repented of denying Jesus and went on to do great things in His name. What’s important is not that we never make mistakes but that we recognize them, repent, and move on in the right direction.  

Moving in the right direction means learning to give 100% of our lives to Jesus. He does the same for us.  

Jesus Gave 100% 

We all know the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. He gave everything for us on that cross, died a horrible death and faced God’s wrath because He loves us.  

But Jesus gave up everything for us long before then.  

He had it made in Heaven. He is the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe, and He lived in perfect Heaven. But Jesus left that.  

He came to an Earth that was marred by sin when He already had a throne in Heaven. He put His crown aside to be born in a manger to a poor family. 

Philippians 2:5-7 says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” 

Throughout the 30-something years Jesus lived on Earth, He endured rejection, persecution, and—at the end of His life—torture.  He preached the gospel knowing the world would hate Him for it. The trials He faced on earth were difficult and pained Him, yet He prayed to God, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”  

He gave so much for those who didn’t love Him back. 

Jesus gave 100% not only in that He died for us, but that He rose from the grave. Death could not hold Him, and so, He defeated sin.  

Because He gave everything, we have everything we need—forgiveness of our sins, a life promised for us in Heaven if we repent and put our faith in Jesus, a community of other believers.  

I feel ashamed sometimes that Jesus gave 100% and I don’t always. 

When a father sacrifices for His children, often, the children don’t realize how much their father is doing for them. I don’t think any of us can fully understand how much God has given us, we can only thank Him for what He has done and follow Him.  

You Can Give Everything 

What changed for Peter? How did he go from denying Jesus to preaching in His name? The answer is simple: the gospel.  

When Jesus died for our sins and rose again, He got rid of the divide between man and God for believers. Now the Holy Spirit lives in Christians and helps us to follow Jesus daily. Peter could only have the impact he did because God’s spirit was living in him.  

Christ gives us the ability to give everything to Him, too. He not only gives us the ability, He asks us to.  

Romans 12:1 says ““I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Not only our spiritual lives, but even our bodies should be a living sacrifice to God.  

I love reading stories of people who have given their whole lives to Jesus. Jonathan Edwards, Jim Elliot, and the disciples are just a few examples.  

Their stories show us that it is possible to give all we are to Jesus, or as close to it as we can accomplish on this Earth. It seems unattainable to love God in the way martyrs, apostles, and preachers did, but it is possible.  

Jim Elliot was a missionary who died trying to bring the gospel to a tribe of people. But he didn’t start out as a Christian going dangerous places for Jesus. He started out learning about Jesus, growing His faith, and learning to trust in God. There were many years of waiting before He was able to go into the mission field.  

He started small, and you can too. Start by identifying an area in your life when you can give 100% 

For me, it’s serving others. I have found that I have been more selfish than I would like to be lately. I am going to try to focus more on God and put others’ needs and God’s work above my own desires.  

Lord, help me become more like you in the way you selflessly love others. Humble me and set my thoughts on You instead of myself.  

What is your prayer? 

What is something you need to give to God? 

How can you give 100%?