Give Him my all…

My father told me this story one day. In a Church, when offertory was being taken, there was a man who took the plate from the usher, laid it on the ground and stepped on it. My father asked me whether what he did was right or wrong. When he said that, I could see tears in his eyes! At that time, I was about 18 or 19 and the only answer I could think of was, a Church offertory plate being sacred, how can anyone defile it by standing on it! My father never explained it to me. He passed away early and it was long after he was gone that the true meaning of the story dawned on me. From that moment, whenever I think of that story, my eyes also tear-up!

We love the two compartments ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’ and our life is organized around it; a ‘secular compartment’ where we do what others do and live exactly like the others and a ‘sacred compartment’ where we go to church and get involved in so-called religious activities. For a believer, there are no two ‘compartments’. All our life belongs to God and all our life is ‘sacred’.

When we hire a person, we pay a salary for 8 or 9 hours of work each day and they are expected to work only during those hours. When Jesus paid the price on the Cross of Calvary, did He pay for just a part of our life? Just think about it. Christina Rossett writes in the song, “In the bleak midwinter” as follows:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

I believe, it goes far beyond the heart, even though it is the beginning!

Jesus paid the price for our whole life just so that we will live for Him ​ every day and every minute of our life. Every aspect of our life should bring glory to God. All that we have, all that we are, and all that we ever do belong to Him who has redeemed us with His very life!

The Tamil song “அர்ப்பணித்தேன் என்னை முற்றிலுமாய்” captures that thought beautifully. The chorus goes as follows:

அனைத்தும் கிறிஸ்துவுக்கே - எந்தன் அனைத்தும் அர்ப்பணமே.
என் முழுத்தன்மைகள், ஆவல்களும், அனைத்தும் கிறிஸ்துவுக்கே !

My friend, in this New Year, let us dedicate ourselves to Him completely and live every day bringing glory to God alone!

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 20th December 2017 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 27th December 2017

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