Why Jesus Wants All of You: Moving the Gospel from Your Head to Your Heart

In Acts 14, we find Paul and Barnabas completing their first missionary journey—traveling dusty Roman roads, preaching in unfamiliar cities, and facing both revival and riot. They were not part-time Christians or weekend missionaries. They were all in. And here is the most important thing we learn from their journey:

Jesus isn’t just looking for a piece of your life. Jesus wants all of you.

That truth hits especially hard when you trace what happened in Lystra. After being run out of multiple towns for preaching the gospel, Paul and Barnabas show up in Lystra and perform a public miracle—healing a man who had never walked a day in his life. The crowd erupts. But instead of turning to Jesus, they turn on Paul and Barnabas, thinking they are gods in human form. They even start preparing sacrifices.

This wasn’t what Paul wanted. He tears his clothes in distress and shouts, “We are only men!” Then he calls them to repent and turn to the living God—the Creator who had revealed Himself through nature all along and now has made Himself known through Jesus.

But even with a powerful message, it doesn’t take long for the crowd to flip. Jews from nearby cities stir up opposition, and Paul is stoned and left for dead. One moment he’s praised like a god; the next, he’s lying on the ground half dead.

But what does Paul do next?

He gets up. And the very next day, he goes to the next town to preach the good news about Jesus.

Why? Why would a man who just endured a failed execution keep doing the very thing that almost got him killed? Because he believed Jesus is worth it. Because he had already died to himself. Because he had given Jesus not just a portion of his heart—but all of it.

Too often, we treat Jesus like a consultant, not a King. We want His advice, His encouragement, maybe His help in a crisis—but we don’t hand Him the keys to our hearts or our lives. Paul and Barnabas did. And Jesus used them in powerful ways.

Maybe you’re not being called to travel 100 miles on foot to preach in hostile towns. But Jesus is calling you to take the gospel somewhere. And it starts by allowing the gospel to travel about 12 inches—from your head to your heart. No matter who you are. No matter where you are. Jesus is calling you to surrender your plans, your preferences, your pride. Not because he’s a tyrant, but because he’s a good King who gave His life for you.

The missionary hero Jim Elliot—who gave up his life for the sake of the gospel—once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” That’s the kind of faith Paul had. That’s the kind of faith Jesus is calling you to.

He doesn’t just want your Sunday mornings.

He wants all of you.