Jim Elliott wrote and my parents normalized it in our home that … “wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” Be all there became a “family mantra” that was instrumental in our families ability to make our MIFG (Maximum Impact for God) in so many of the places we lived in (eight countries and 30 houses).
One doesn’t have to read very far in the New Testament to recognize that this “be all there” idea was at the heart of Jesus’ life and ministry. After all, he had become flesh and “dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The apostle Paul had the same idea. Speaking of his situation, Paul writes that he learned … “that in whatever state I am to be content” (Phi. 4:12 … i.e. to have abundance or to have need).
Reflecting on Paul’s life, Rolland Allan observed that the longest he spent in any one place was three years. It seems that he had discovered that if he was to have an effective, authentic ministry in each location he was going to have to be “all there” for however long that would be. He entered into life as fully as possible in every situation, circumstance and observed how God used him!
This phrase is particularly poignant for those of us that are “global souls” …people who have grown up in the spaces between and … (For the rest of the story, subscribe to the Heart in Hand)