Have you ever been gambling in a casino, and been asked to ‘ante up’, and what does it mean, to ‘ante up’?
The definition of the phrase to ‘ante up’ comes from the world of poker and it means;
‘to provide payment or compensation for something; to do one’s share of something’ (https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/ante-up – accessed 21/02/2020).
It is commonly called your stake, it is what you are prepared to put down and possibly win depending upon what cards you have, and depending upon what rules you are playing, i.e. do you ‘ante up’ before seeing your cards, or after.
So in life, what are you prepared to ‘ante up’, what are you prepared to stake?
What are you prepared to potentially loose, and what are you willing to ‘put on the line’?
The Collins dictionary online site defines the phrase ‘putting it on the line’ as;
‘to do something which causes you to risk losing something such as your reputation or your job’ (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/put-something-on-the-line – accessed 21/02/2020).
To ‘ante up’ or ‘put something on the line’ is risky, as you never completely know the outcome, especially when gambling. It is a game of chance, an undertaking of a specified risk, a guess at the possible outcome, a chance to walk away with more than you sat down with, especially when you make large stakes.
So, when we are out around the town, or during our time at work, or in our leisure time when we are chatting with friends, what are we prepared to risk for the chance of the people we know, getting to know Jesus?
Do we ‘ante up’ big for Jesus?
Are we risking it for team Jesus?
Are we all-in for Jesus?
In this country it is relatively easy to talk about Jesus or God without worry. Generally, no-one will arrest us for talking to our friends about our Friend and Saviour.
Not so in countries like China or North Korea, when every time some-one speaks about Jesus or even some aspect of Christianity in general, they risk being arrested and put into prison; they ‘ante up’ a huge stake, they risk it all, including potentially their life.
‘Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (John 15:13 NIV).
Some people are prepared to possibly lose their freedom and even their lives for the gospel, but we would only be copying earlier people who did exactly that, they lost their live for Jesus.
Jesus came to this earth to save humanity. There was no chance involved in the timing of his coming, as God’s timing is perfect, even better than the Citizen A660 watch (https://www.watchreport.com/the-most-accurate-quartz-watch-in-the-world/ accessed 21/02/2020);
‘at the right time Christ died for the ungodly’ (Romans 5:5 ESV).
And more to the point, when God sent Jesus, he was sent into a world rife with sin, full of people worshipping false gods, and not listening to the teachers of the law of Moses. They had lost their way and were trying to ‘go it alone’, I have also tried this, and I failed spectacularly.
‘for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23 – emphasis mine).
We are all sinners, even those of us who profess to be Christians. We all fail at some point, and those who say they do not, are probably failing even more so as they say it, but that does not change the fact that God loves us, and he loves us so much that he did something about it;
‘For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16 ESV).
But not only did he send Jesus, his only son, but he did so when we did not care;
‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8 NIV).
There was no chance involved; there was no speculation about what might happen, as God knew what the outcome would be when he sent Jesus.
Jesus came to save us. You and me!
So what are we prepared to ‘ante up’ for Jesus?
Are you prepared for some of your friends to maybe say sarcastic things about you when they find out that you follow Jesus?
Are you ready to possibly have you work colleagues poke fun at you when you say that you love Jesus?
These may not be nice situations to face, but they pale into comparison to the hanging on a cross that Jesus did for us!
What are you prepared to risk???
You put Your love on the line
To bear the weight of sin that was mine
Washing my river of wrongs
Into the sea of Your infinite love
Mercy roars like hurricane winds
Furious love laid waste to my sin
With arms held high
Lord I give my life
Knowing I’m found in Christ
In Your love forever
With all I am
In Your grace I stand
The greatest of all romance
Love of God
My Saviour
To the One who has rescued my soul
To the One who has welcomed me home
To the One who is Saviour of all
I sing forever
Love On The Line
Scott Ligertwood / Brooke Ligertwood / Aryel Murphy
Lord thank you for giving it all when you sent Jesus to save us. Lord you are so gracious and loving that you kept nothing back when you decided to save your children. Lord we marvel at the fact that Jesus died for us. Lord we want to worship you with our live, let us be salt and light for you in this dark world. Let our live show your son, may people see Jesus before us when we enter a room, may you have the glory forever and ever Lord.
Amen
Bobbles Stuff 