8/26/2022 • Desk of Dennis Piller
Give yourself away.
What does that mean to you?
People that are dishonest or are hiding something often give themselves away by slipping up causing people to see the truth.
It may mean to give something (to someone) for free; To donate something.
It may be to relinquish something or give up control of something.
To give away a secret about someone or something.
Or maybe to give away a bride to a bridegroom.
That is really passing on life to another life. We give it away symbolically, and spiritually, but she really made her choice and hopefully, we agree. Either way, our child is going away to start a new life with a new life.
I think man was macerated with a need to give. A need to sow into other lives. A need to give their light away. Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. We know and are taught as Christians to give ourselves away by sharing what has been given to us with those who have less. We give ourselves away by sharing our gifts, talents, time, ourselves, and, yes, even our financial resources.
I believe the premise of giving oneself away is rooted in the truth in Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too.” It all belongs to God. James 1:17 echoes this truth: “Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father.”
So how can we hold them in? It is like the water that flows into the Dead Sea…it has no outlet so it lies stagnant…dead. So is it with the love, the light, and the gifts God has freely given us; Salvation, forgiveness, honor, peace, joy, hope, thanksgiving… the list goes on and on.
Our very lives and the breath we breathe is a gift from God. How SELF-centered can we be to not just see this…but the magnitude of it? Why aren’t we humbled by those gifts? What value could we possibly put upon them? Aren’t they worth far more than silver and gold?
When we lay the proper and truthful foundation, we can move forward by first, giving back to God. We give ourselves away, by first giving God his 10% to honor him and his work on earth. Not because he needs our gifts in order to be God, or because the church needs our money. Harnish writes, “The people of God — you and me — give to the church and to God because of our gratitude to him. We give back to God what is God’s so that through our gifts the love of God can become a tangible reality in our world. Our giving is a reminder of the blessings God gives us and gave to us through Jesus Christ.”
We find in John 3:16 three thoughts that should be the foundation of all our giving. God’s motivation for giving was love; he gave himself (away) in the person of Jesus, and God gave in response to our needs. As we use this example for the basis of our giving, we realize that the only giving God recognizes is giving wrapped in love. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul writes, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (NIV).
But this goes far…very far beyond giving tithes to God. It is the basis of life. Love IS giving oneself away. We cannot truly love without serving with that same love and compassion. Without serving, and giving ourselves away, there is no love. Love is a verb. It lives and breaths and gives itself away, even against those who persecute us, call us names, malign us, and even kill us. It is the heart of it. The motivation behind it. A true follower of Jesus BECAUSE of their gratitude for all of God’s loving gifts is to freely give yourself away.
While most people enjoy helping others, the real benefit is hidden and not so obvious. Giving Glory back to God. As a huge sidenote, we receive a reward in return by learning to give ourselves away. After you participate in such a life, in such an experience, you will find that you receive far more than you gave away. You will have blessed God. Blessed your brother and heaped blessings on yourself.
Roman 8: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
He gave himself away for us. Can we do less for those around us? I profess that at the very moment we cease to serve, I believe, we cease to love and give ourselves away.
Waymaker
