Song Title: Give Until There's Nothing Left
When I was younger my parents often held back one special Christmas present for each child and gave it to us later in the day. One year, when I was a young teen, my parents pulled out a large wrapped cardboard box with no distinguishing marks. Inside to my amazement was a ceramic Darth Vader Clock, but it wasn't just a clock. This was a custom specially designed, multi-purpose information center. My mother had asked the person selling this wonder to throw in as much technical gadgets as possible. The back of this thing had all kinds of buttons and knobs, each with its own function. It was a clock, alarm, stop watch, thermometer, it lit up, made noises, and a bunch of other things I never did figure out. I was awestruck by it and will never forget it. Now that was a gift! What are some memorable gifts that you received? Did you ever get a really special gift? Something extraordinary? Have you ever thought about the gifts that God gives us as being extraordinary, as precious, and really special? He gave us His son. He gave us the Holy Spirit. He gives us hope and a purpose. He's giving us a place in His kingdom. He loves us beyond our comprehension. How should we return the favor?
The feeling I had getting that great gift all those years ago pales in comparison to the feeling I get when someone receives a gift that they really like from me. Have you ever had this happen to you? When?
Maybe I'm a little different from most people. I remember a few years ago when we were in a Bible study and we took a self assessment of what our love language was. The speaker asked us to raise our hands for each of the
five love languages. As each language was mentioned: acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch; hands shot up in the crowd. When we got to Receiving Gifts only one hand was raised, mine. I was a little embarrassed. That is me, though. Picking out the right gift and receiving a special gift have always meant a lot to me. Maybe that's why I notice all of the special gifts given in the Bible. How many can you come up with? There are enough of them that it does seem like gifts are important to God.
While you're in the Bible find some passages where God tells us how much we should give to Him. How much we should give to others. Go ahead and do some research. Use a concordance or the Internet. After that, think of what Relient K means by giving until there is nothing left. We often call this sacrificial giving. Giving so much that it hurts. It affects you. It changes you. The Old Testament calls us to tithe our ten percent and has some other guidelines for giving, but is that all we are to give? What does the New Testament say? Here's a story that might give you an idea of what the New Testament says about how much to give in Mark 12:41-44, The Widow’s Mite.
And Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
God wants it all. He wants all of you and all that you have. But what does He want us to give to each other? What does He want us to share? Look in Matthew 25:31-40, the Sheep and the Goats.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
So, if we do things for each other in the name of the Lord, it is as if we are doing it for the Lord! What have you done for Christ? Have you ever given sacrificially for God? When? What do you have to offer the Lord? Can you give it all over to Him? He will take it all. He wants it all. Is He asking too much from you? Are you holding something back? Pray that God release you from your desires to all things, but Him, and remember He does want it all.
Make a list of offerings you can make for the Lord. Make a list of gifts you can give to others. Try to think sacrificially. Try to think of the special gifts, the precious and extraordinary offerings that you can make to the Lord.
P.S. This is probably the first and last time that you'll see a Def Leppard song as the title of one of these blogs.
