Hokey Pokey Part 3: What It's All About

This is the last of three posts unveiling the meaning behind the enigmatic and highly controversial musical masterpiece known as the Hokey Pokey. The first post discussed how the song mocks the haphazard way many of us approach life by carelessly flinging our limbs into the fray. Our journey continued with the investigation of the repetitive instruction "turn yourself around" as a metaphor representing repentance. Finally we will address the crux of the matter where we hope to discover "what it's all about".

All In?

Counting the cost

Maybe you agree. Whatever you are doing now isn't working for you. You decide to turn around. The next question: "So what is the catch?" What does God want for taking away my sin and giving me life that lasts?

A rich young ruler asked Jesus this same question. He thought he wanted to follow Jesus, so he asked about the requirements. "What must I do?" Jesus told him to sell everything. The rich man walked away. He didn't want to give up his wealth. Jesus wanted the man's heart, and he knew that the man was in love with his stuff. The rich man was willing to give up part of himself. Jesus wanted all of him. That's hard. It doesn't mean we sell all our stuff, but it does mean that we get rid of things, ideas and relationships that we think are more important than God. We need to "put our whole self in."

Many Christians are afraid of this message; Jesus wasn't.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

Anyone who says that God wants less than all of you is selling you something. When someone says "all you need to do is . . . " they don't get it.  Most of us don't don't have a practical understanding of Jesus as lord. We know Jesus as savior and friend, but Jesus never asked anyone to cross the line without counting the cost. We so often look at his words (with our own interpretation) and ignore his example.

Look, I'm not saying that you have to "do" something specific to know God, but your heart needs to be in the right place. Our hope is not based on what we do. It's based on what we couldn't do, what Jesus did. He gave his life on a cross, so we could know life. That's what it's all about.