“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” (Philippians 2:19-30)

“Louis Mobley, founder of IBM’s Executive School in 1956, emphatically argued that the most important question that every organization must continually ask is: “What is the business of the business?” In other words, what do we stand for? What is our mission and reason for being? Why are we in business at all? Does our mission and our values deserve an all-in response from our colleagues, customers, and stakeholders?” (www.forbes.com)

I heard many times growing up that if something is not worth putting all your effort into it, then it isn’t worth doing at all. Why try a little? If you want to be successful, you have to put in all you’ve got. That has been and is a solid axiom for being successful in this world. It also has merit in the spiritual realm. Statistics show that “most successful Christian churches are not “Christian light” churches—churches that have lowered standards in order to lower the barrier to entry. Instead it is the “all-in” churches that are thriving.” (www.forbes.com).

Timothy and Epaphroditus went all-in for Jesus. Paul’s specific mentioning of them in today’s section make that clear. It also fits with the theme that has been evident throughout our reading thus far, that a life participating with Christ is an all-in life and is the best way for us to be fully connected with Christ through the Spirit. Jesus went all-in, after all, He gave up EVERYTHING to be with us. Paul followed suit and so did these two gentlemen.

What does going all-in look like to you? Have you seen someone go all-in fro Jesus lately? What did that look like? Please comment and let us know.