Lent Day 38: We Are an Offering (V)

On this thirty-eighth lenten morning, I am struck anew with wonder that the King, the Lord of Glory, the Prince of peace, the One who owns everything gave up His everything to come down to earth . . . to become poor, destitute, homeless . . . and all of that for my sake.

Mine.
Yours.
Humanity.

How can my mind grasp such wonder?

The lenten chorus We Are an Offering continues to point me to Christ's sacrifice and the call for you and me to imitate His generosity.

All that we have . . .

"All to Jesus, I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live."

Is that true of you?

Is that stanza true of me?

A cursory look at the way we live our lives tells a far different story:

We love to own.

We think we have. 

We revel in possessing. 

Even as babies, we tend to feel as though we own or possess everything that is within our grasp. “Mine!” we say. “Return to me what is rightfully mine,” we demand. We are so well versed in that attitude that it is like pulling teeth for us to willingly part with any party or possession deemed ours. Taken to its natural course, such an erroneous view leads us to withhold all kinds of items from God Himself.

We cling tenaciously to our relationships, entertainment, money, time, attention, and service. We feel that it is impossible to bid adieu to anyone or anything that has long brought great pleasure to our hearts, not realizing that earthly affections were never meant to replace our first allegiance to God. Often, we give but do so from a place of reluctance or even apathy. We may be casual or cavalier in our approach; we may be doubtful and hesitant in our giving. We may begrudge the very concept of giving.

God’s Word, gratefully, brings great clarity to our confusion. It teaches us that we own nothing; God owns everything. Therefore, all that we have comes from Him, belongs to Him, and is meant to return to Him. We are but stewards of the resources entrusted to our care—our bodies, our hearts, our souls, our relationships, our possessions, etc. In fact, God invites us to give all that we have to Him liberally, passionately, and purposefully—squandering no opportunity to offer ourselves to the Father. It is, perhaps, the reason leading Paul to write,

“Remember this: 

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, 

and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, 

not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, 

so that in all things at all times, 

having all that you need, 

you will abound in every good work.” 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8, NIV

As we pray today, let us join the voice of Asaph saying, “Whom have in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25-26, NIV). May we grasp the foolishness of chasing after the foolishness of worldly pleasures and embrace the wisdom of giving our all to our generous Lord!

"All to Jesus, I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me."

Extracted from I Surrender All, Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1908)