Won't or Can't?

How many of us have found our non-Christian friends are generally OK allowing us to share our faith with them, maybe even allow us to take their kids to church with us (provided each family has kids around the same age).  Some may even have allowed us to share the gospel with them enough times that they understand what's at stake but just can't seem to take that last step of making a hard commitment because they want to accept Jesus on their terms and not on His terms?  

What I mean by that is that Jesus doesn't want just a part of us - He want's ALL of us!  Below are a few verses that help clarify His expectations for us:

Ephesians 4:22-24 - that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Philippians 3:8 - More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for who I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ,

Luke 9:23 - And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his Cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?"

John 12:24 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

What appears to hold many of us up in making a decision to accept Jesus is the commitment of our entire self to Jesus.  We want to pick and choose what parts of ourselves we give up.   You know, we still want to be able to keep control of aspects of our lives, but only let Jesus into certain aspects of our lives.  Unfortunately, this isn't what Jesus is looking for.  And really, when you step back and consider what we are already willing to commitment to other things- you have to wonder why are we so hesitant to commit to Jesus.   What I mean is, how many:

• Are willing to focus solely on a career/climbing the corporate ladder vs. any aspect of outside life?  Often losing friends and family along the way.
• Teenage girls are willing to sacrifice their bodies to premarital sex over to get or keep a boy friend?
• People willing to sacrifice relationships with their friends/family to chase after drugs and/or alcohol?
• Dads/Husbands and/or moms/wives make a decision to their family over an adulterous relationship?

The one thing each of the above has in common is that we are sacrificing large portions of our lives and/or committing our lives to the above things and more!   We have no problem at all with these and other thigs continuously asking for more and more from us.   To continuously sacrifice for some unspoken promise or reward.   But in any of these things - the world asks us to take action first - many times with absolutely no guarantee we will be successful in obtaining what we are are pursuing.  Are we really willing to gamble with eternity with no guarantee?  In my experience the world has a big problem with over promisi and under delivering.  Luke 17:33 tells us whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.  It seems to me that in not committing our entire life to Jesus that we are choosing eternal death.   Does that make sense?

Here's the thing, unlike the world, Jesus isn't asking any of us to do something that He hasn't already done for us.  When Jesus went to the cross and died for us, He committed His life to us!  Let that sink in for a second.  Jesus isn't asking us to do anything that He hasn't already done for us.   He went first!   He made the commitment to us before He asked us to commit our lives to Him!  All he is asking of us is to pour ourselves out for him just as he poured himself out for us - except we don't have to go thru the humiliation of being crucified on the cross to do so.   Further we have the guarantee that if we give all to Him, that we will have eternal life!   

John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send Jesus into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Given the sacrifice Jesus made for us, is it really too much to ask to give our self entirely over to Jesus?