Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
What can we give God that He does not already possess? What can we do for Him that He has not already done?
Man often looks upon his works, the grandiose nature of his cities, the pomp of heroism, or the acclaim of admirers and thinks more highly than he ought to think. When we take into account our strength, it is only a whimper when held before the Lord, the God of all Creation. Creation shouts of His mighty works, the Earth resonates with His glory, the closer we observe our surroundings, the more astonishingly we can admire God’s masterpiece.
So how can we bring anything of value before the Lord and consider it substantial?
When we see all that God brings us into, we realize it is simply a measure of His grace to lead us at all. He could completely abandon us and not change His position in glory one iota. We deserve nothing and yet God promises to see us through whatever He leads us into.
What we can Give
1. We can give Him our praise.
Psalm 30:12 “To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”
When we bring worship unto His throne, we submit ourselves to rule. We recognize God’s goodness and proclaim Him worthy of all honor. When we worship the Lord, we recognize His position over us as our judge and yet by His grace and mercy we are saved. We have so many reasons to worship, whether they seem small or great, when the Lord is doing the work they all remain significant.
2. We can be faithful in our promises.
Psalm 76:11 “Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them; Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.”
If I make a vow to serve the Lord all my days, then I honor the Lord by remaining steadfast in my commitment. If I am led by God into trials, I honor Him by remaining obedient to His law. This world and much of the church for that matter, has no clue as to what steadfastness of spirit really looks like, when over 50% of all marriages end in divorce, clearly remaining faithful is an issue. The fact that more people are simply living in a cohabitation type of relationship is reflective of the general loss of faith in marriage vows meaning anything anymore. With marriage being redefined and diluted in its measure of holiness, the hope for the family is greatly diminishing. We can make a difference by being found faithful in all we do.
3. We can offer Him our sacrifices.
1 Chronicles 16:29 “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness;”
Sacrifice is difficult when it costs you something. It was once said regarding sacrifice that, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
When it comes to following Jesus, the issue isn’t whether you’ve done something or not, the issue is do I trust Him? This question must be asked regarding everything we go through.
Do I trust Him for my relationships, money, living situation, job, family, health, future…the list can be endless in the manner in which we must trust.
Our End
Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
At the end of our days, when we stand before the Lord, what is it that we will have to offer Him?
The answer will be nothing. We bring nothing into this world and there will nothing we can take out of it. We strive and work to earn money and buy things only to leave them for someone else. Why do we fret? Why do we allow the pressures of this world to so overwhelm us when there is so little of this world that will remain?
The only reason anyone will be able to stand before the Lord will be because they have been made acceptable in His sight by the blood of the Lamb.
The mark of Jesus is the only thing of significance that we can take with us into eternity. All of our good works were formed in Him. All of who we are were a result of His goodness He showed toward us. When we give our lives to the Savior, we identify with His perfection and His glory is our reward.
Sure, we will have others to rejoice with in Heaven, but I guarantee you, we will be praising the Lord together for His faithfulness in our lives.
He raises one man up to bless another. The Lord sees the plight of the brokenhearted and destitute, He then takes the man that He has transformed by the work of His Spirit and plugs him into a role that strengthens another.
There will be nothing we can claim for ourselves when the day of reckoning comes.
A Psalm of Perspective
Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The Word of God brings perspective to our sense of reality.
God’s strength is made manifest within the innocence of a child and in the grandiose nature of the universe. The Lord can take anything and proclaim His majesty.
We are nothing without Him.
Do you want to bring an offering to God that has substance?
Be found faithful. Trust Him. Worship Him for His goodness.
It is all we can do.
U.T. 