All My Nothing

Written by Matt Behr

Six am came early this morning. We packed clothes into our suitcases, food into our bellies, and made our way to the first stop, Nazareth, the hometown of Christ. This small town of around two hundred people, where everyone knows the people in their town, would have seen the fathers work, the mothers do motherly things and their children grow up. They saw Jesus grow up! Yet in Luke 4 they try to stone him, the Son of Man, who just a few verses earlier refused to turn stones to bread. The things that caught my mind here were my mistake.

I was writing notes as our fearless leader, Matt, taught us about the Scripture. He said, “When you’re following Jesus, it’s all or nothing.” I wrote down, ‘all your nothing’. I quickly noticed my mistake and fixed it, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what I just wrote. When I come to Christ I bring ‘all my nothing’. There’s no good deed that makes me a top draft pick for God’s team (Isaiah 64:6). I bring all my nothing. When I ask for forgiveness because I have once again allowed my sinful nature to allow me to think that I know a better way of living, I bring all my nothing. And in the gloominess of that thought, the beauty and grace of Christ bringing all his everything became clear once again. He brought everything to the cross on my behalf. Every single day I bring all my nothing and lay it at his feet, and he continually gives me all of his everything. That’s the God I serve, that’s the Savior I believe in, that’s the Christ that died on the cross and that’s the man who was kicked out of his home town, merely a few hundred yards in front of my eyes. All this came from my mistake. As I write these words I am reminded of just how frequently the Lord uses my mistakes in order to glorify His name. That’s a powerful God.

Our second site, Tel Megiddo, was a mighty fortress. It’s name, in fact, means ‘place of troops’. It lays at the crucial intersection on the Jezreel Valley and the East-West Road of ancient times. This is a place that the kings of Israel would gather and collect military might, and is evidence today of many stables and storehouses. However, the Lord commanded Israel in Deuteronomy to not go to Egypt and collect chariots (possibly because they brought comfort and were what one could rely upon in battle, and we know that one finds all the comfort they could possibly hope for and more in the Lord). I left Megiddo asking myself: What are the chariots in my life? What do I build up for times of trouble? Am I storing up treasures here, or am I storing them in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-24)? It can only be one. Again, it’s all or nothing.

On we went to Mt. Carmel, where learned God used Elijah to remind the nation of Israel who he was. Israel had fallen in to Baal worship. Elijah, whose name means Yahweh is God, predicts a drought in the land. And after three years, he challenges the prophets of Baal to have the true God burn up an offering. The prophets of Baal try and try, but there is no answer and no one pays attention (1 Kings 18:29). Elijah builds and prepares an alter, a process that probably took a very long time, and again prays to God, and God reveals himself and engulfs the entire offering, stones and all. The people chant that Yahweh is God. They chant Elijah, for that is what his name means. Yet as impressed in the moment, as they are, the nation of Israel doesn’t give God anything. In fact, once again they choose not to follow God. They give God their attention for a moment but nothing more. Again - It’s all or nothing.

The last place we visited today was Caesarea Maritima, an incredible port city built by Herod the Great. An incredibly important city in the time, it was a sort of launching place for believers. Philip the evangelist was here (Acts 21), Peter was here (Acts 10), Paul was here (Acts 21:7-8), and now I’m here. We asked ourselves: What do I do from here? And since this isn’t just about me, what do you do from where you are? Do you stay because it’s comfortable, or do you pursue with reckless abandon the life the Lord graciously calls us to everyday, bringing your nothing, while he brings you his everything.

Your brother in Christ,
Matt Behr