I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.    John 15:5-6 CSB

The song, “Why Not Take All of Me?” was first made popular when it was broadcast on radio and sung by Belle Baker in 1931. It has since been recorded by many others including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson just to name a few. The lyrics say, “All of Me, Why not take all of me? Can’t you see, I’m no good without you?”

In any relationship it is essential that each party gives it their all. Our relationship with Christ is no different. Jesus Christ gave His all when He died on the cross at Calvary to save us from our sins. John 15:13 sums it up well for us by saying that greater love hath no man than to lay down His life for His friends. Jesus died on that cross not only for those that love Him and put Him first in their lives but for rotten sinners in hope that they may come to give their lives to Him so that they may have the gift of eternal life. Romans 5:8 said that Christ showed His great love for us in that He died for us while we were still sinners. He didn’t wait for us to get our act together.

In order for us to be in a solid relationship with Jesus Christ, we must deny ourselves, we must put Him first in our lives. In Luke 9:23-24, Jesus says that anyone who wants to follow Him, must deny themselves and daily take up their cross and follow Him. This means I must put Him first. I must give my all to Him. I must tell Him to take all of me.

In the song, the singer talks about taking his lips saying, “I want to lose them”. I should never use my lips for foul talk, but only for what is good for building up someone in need (Ephesians 4:29-32). I should use them to give grace to those to hear and should never grieve the Holy Spirit. We should give our mouths over to God so that what goes into them is good and what comes out of them is good.

It then says, “Take my arms I’ll never use them.” We should be the hands and feet of Christ. Our arms and hands should be used for His service.  Romans 12:1 says that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We should lift our arms and our hands to God and use them to serve Him. Proverbs 6:18 lists seven things that are detestable to God and they all have to do with various body parts. They include arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes and feet eager to run to evil, a lying witness who gives false testimony and one who stirs up trouble.

If you have claimed to be saved or perhaps re-dedicated your life to Christ, but have only given Him parts of you it’s time to ask Him to take all of you. That’s what He requires, but He wants you to freely give it. He won’t force you to come to Him and He won’t force you to give yourself to Him.

For years, I thought God was happy with the leftover parts of me that I offered. I finally came to realize this was not doing me any good. I decided to give it all to God, the good, the bad and the ugly. I let Him take charge and I have never looked back. There are still times when I don’t do what I should, but I pray continually for Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit helps me to resist temptation and is quick to convict me when I slip up.

Holding on to me only caused me to make a mess of things. Once I gave all of me to God, He cleaned it up and gave me peace and joy.

Ten and a half years ago, I asked God to just “take all of me”.  I had grown tired of the mess I’d made of  things. He did and I am so glad He did. He will do the same for you if you will only ask.

Have a great day!