Theme: God's Will
As we celebrated the dedication of four of the youngest members of our family this past Sunday, we were reminded of what that meant for those children, their parents and us as their family. Dedication meant committing those young people into the hands of God, and acknowledging that they are not ours, their parents’ nor their own. They, like all of us and all we possess, were created and given by our God, and are His, whether we admit it or not.
We were reminded by Pastor Dan that God’s Will shall be done, and that we experience His Will in multiple ways. First, there is God’s sovereign Will, which is often beyond what our finite minds can comprehend. Secondly, there is God’s moral Will, which is His Will for His children as new creations. In between these two is God’s Will for each of us individually. This involves us tapping into His plan through prayer and discovering our unique purpose.
In Samuel 1 Hannah, prayed to God to give her a child, and promised to dedicate him to God if He granted her prayers. He did, and when she was done weaning Samuel, she did as she promised and gave Samuel to God saying, “So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life will be given over to the Lord.” Hannah knew Samuel was a gift from God, not hers to cling to, but created by God for the unique purpose God had for him.
God’s Will shall be done, whether a person walks with Him or not. He is not bound by our actions, infirmities or wills. His Will is also often a paradox, seemingly self-contradictory, but nevertheless true. The world’s law says, “get yours, look out for number one, and don’t trust anyone.” It tells you that you are a fool if you consider others over yourself, don’t store up riches for old age, and do not believe in the law of scarcity and that we must covet what others have because they have ours. This law leads to envy, greed, distrust, wars, murder and despair.
God says lose all you have, your money, your talents, your very life, as Jesus did, and I will give you more. Many may say that this is the prosperity gospel. m genoito (no, no, no, no, no, no way). This is the opposite. God is not some cosmic Santa Claus from which we can bargain, bribe and force to double or triple what we give. No! We give because it is not ours to begin with, whether it be our money, our positions, our children or ourselves. Think of this, God created all, us included, and sustains all. He created us to give Him Glory, and nothing more. We are not our own, again, whether we accept this truth or not.
1 Peter 2: 9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
As Pastor said, “We only get to keep what we give away. God’s paradox of truth that only those in Christ can hope to grasp”.
Scripture: Matthew 10:39 (NIV)
“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Prayer
"Heavenly Father, help me to know that all that I am is yours. Help me to loosen my grip on all I possess, my family, my goals and my very life. Allow me to be grateful for what you provide in my life, but don’t let me cling to any of it, build my worth on it, or envy those that have more. Make me content in only you show me where you would have me give it all away. In the name of Christ, Amen."
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