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The Gift We Can Give To God |
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Article by Tom Gilbert — ©
When
we look at all the incredible things God has given us it seems
impossible that we could return the favor. True enough. Don't
worry, God's not looking for repayment. He gives to us freely
and with love. His greatest gift of all, Jesus as the sacrifice
for all of our sins and the one who redeems us and brings us
fully into a relationship with God, is the springboard for
all
the other things He gives us.
If you love someone then you will want to give to him or her. It's
a natural expression of our love. In the case of God what can
we possible give? It's the ultimate "what do you give to
the one who has everything"?
The one great gift that we can give to God is…our self. Totally.
Completely. Utterly and without reservation. God wants us to
abandon ourselves to Him. That's what He's looking for. He has
some big plans for each of us.
Just as long as we are holding back some part of our self then we
haven't completely surrendered. This is the crux of most of
our self-made problems. We say, yes God you can have me in this
part of my life, but this one thing here, well I've got it under
control.
You've Got To Give It Up
Giving completely of our selves feels like giving up. In a sense this
is true. You have to surrender your seat of control. In God's
incredible way, however, He gives us back our selves, reborn
and renewed in His Spirit. We get to discover what it's really
like to be in His image.
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Be a cheerful giver
We read in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that the Lord loves a cheerful giver.
Typically this passage is applied to our financial offerings.
And it is appropriate in that context. Can we take it deeper
still? Can we give all of our talents, time, attention, thanks
and praise to the One who makes it all possible? Better yet,
can we do it cheerfully?
God takes us as we are. He doesn't wait until we are carved to goodness
and honed to perfection. No, He'll take us now, warts and all,
and then He'll change us through His Spirit. If you want to
speed the process you have to give up the old ways and the old
self.
Why is this so hard for so many of us? Isn't it because the world
has us in its grasp and is tugging us down into our self-center?
God is on the other end and it's like a big tug-of-war. Actually,
that's wrong. God puts His grace upon us and let's us choose.
He's been seeking and calling us and letting us know He's there.
He never forces the choice on us. He loves us too much for that.
Every day you can tell God you are His. Dedicate each moment, thought
and breath to Him. I tell you that He will reward you richly
if you do. It's scary…I know. As soon as trouble comes
we want to take back control. The same goes for tempting pleasures.
Why do we do this? I'm reminded of Jesus Christ telling his
disciples, "After all this time you still don't know me?"
The flesh and spirit is the real tug-o-war. The only way to be successful
is by God's grace. Give Him that great gift-your willingness
for Him to have all of you. Give so that He can give back, full
measure, overflowing.
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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2 CORINTHIANS 9:7
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Each man should give what he has
decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
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(NIV)
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