Have you ever done the Hokey Pokey? “Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in, and shake it all about.” It ends with, “Put your whole self in.” When you’re doing it, you feel rather silly—maybe that’s why it’s called the Hokey Pokey.

But have you ever really put your whole self into something? I did when I went to graduate school. I worked three part-time jobs, ate a lot of mac ’n’ cheese, and averaged three to four hours of sleep per night—I was “all in” because I was 100% committed to getting my degree.

We are likely to put our whole selves in when we really want or believe in something. So have I ever been all in for Jesus? I believe in him, and I want to do his will here on earth. But have I ever worked as hard doing his work as I did when I was trying to attain other goals in my life? Sadly, I confess I haven’t. Perhaps you confess the same.

Fortunately, however, we have a Savior who went all in for us. He sacrificed everything—his rightful place in heaven, his comfort on this earth, his very life—so we could be assured that we would be all in in his heavenly kingdom. And because of what Jesus did, God views even our meager attempts on his behalf as “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). 

And there’s nothing hokey about that.