When you
use the word “all,” what do you typically mean? It’s an interesting term,
because a little child at dinner might say, “All done!” with her plate still filled
with food. We shrug our shoulders and say, “I gave it my all,” knowing we could
have done more or tried harder. In some churches the hymn, “I Surrender All,”
is commonly sung – but how many are really doing that?
The literal
meaning of all, of course, is “everything”
or “all things.” If you have a party and say to everyone in the room, “You’re
all invited,” that means no exceptions. On election day, when we hear that “all
the votes are in,” that means every precinct, every vote. At least it should
mean that.
In the
Bible, however, when it says “all,” what it really means is…ALL. My Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
lists every verse that includes “all”
– more than 17 pages for that word alone. All
is used nearly 6,000 times in Old and New testaments combined!
Unlike our
common practice, the biblical use of “all” doesn’t imply “sometimes” or even “most
of the time.” This is why my friend, Gib, says “all” is his favorite word in
the Bible.
Philippians
4:6-7 tells us, “Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything [all
things], by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” Gib’s been going through serious health issues, so knowing he can
take everything – including his illness – to God is a promise he clings to with
confidence. That assurance, along with the prayer support of many friends, is
enabling him to experience God’s peace that truly passes all understanding.
Then there’s
1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says we’re to “give
thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” When we’re confronted with
pain, hardships and all manner of adversities, it’s difficult to feel grateful
for those circumstances. We don’t desire such things. But trusting in God and
His sovereign control over our lives enables us to give thanks even when emotions
say we can’t.
When Jesus
performed the miracle of feeding the multitude with five loaves of bread and two
fish, the account says, “About
5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!” (Matthew 14:21). Not a single person was overlooked, even
in that remote area without fast-food restaurants or quick-stop markets.
But the use of “all” in the
Scriptures isn’t just for God’s involvement. He expects our engagement as well.
Proverbs 3:5-6, for example, tells us to, “Trust
in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he
will make your paths straight.” To me this is saying, “Do all you can, and
God will do all He can.”
One of my favorite passages
in the Bible is where we see a contrast between people willing to give their
all and others who are less than fully committed: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which
means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and
put it [all] at the apostles’ feet…. Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira,
also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back
part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’
feet” (Acts 4:36-5:2).
The passage then tells how the
attempted deception cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives. It seemed like harsh
judgment, but God was making clear He doesn’t equivocate on His promise of “all,”
and He expects us to be equally sincere in fulfilling our commitments.
As the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 1:20 assures us, “For all of God's promises have been fulfilled
in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ and through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’)
ascends to God for his glory.”
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