Are You Ready to Go “All In?”

More than 40 years ago, single mother Ruth Fertel mortgaged her home to buy a small restaurant in New Orleans named Chris Steak House. This was especially bold because most women couldn’t even apply for a bank card without a husband’s signature back then. Soon after, a fire forced her into a different location where she renamed the restaurant, Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Today the chain has more than 150 locations.

Ruth wanted something better for her family—and that desire drove her to “go all in,” risking everything in hopes of something better. Ruth’s boldness is an excellent picture of the posture God wants from us.

In a recent sermon series, Pastor Chip Ingram asked, What does God really want from you? His answer? To go all in. “Total commitment to God is aligning your motives, resources, time, energy and dreams. It’s offering yourself unreservedly, all that you are, have and ever will have to God. It’s also the channel through which God’s biggest and best blessings flow.” Let’s unpack his description of total commitment:

• Giving all that you are: Romans 12:1 suggests the only proper, reasonable response to God’s goodness is “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…” to live a life of worship. He wants to be our first priority.
• Giving all you have: If we understand true stewardship—that God owns everything and entrusts it to us—it’s easy to acknowledge His goodness in our lives, and look for ways to bless Him with those resources. “Total commitment” implores us to look at every area of our life through this lens. It asks us to consider how we are living now, and how we are planning for the future.

One practical way you can worship Him for all He’s done is by creating or updating an estate plan that reflects your true values. You can provide for your loved ones and include a gift to an organization you care about.

Your will can be an act of stewardship and worship;
“a channel through which God’s biggest and best blessings flow.”