.
Giving Our
All to God
.
by Tom
Caballes
And you
shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your
strength.
- Mark
12:30
A friend of mine shared that
she does not want to be too close to God because
of the consequences she saw in the lives of some
of those who gave their lives fully to God –
hardships, suffering, sorrow, etc. I remembered
that this is why Teresa of Avila jokingly
thought that God has only few friends is because
of the way He treats them. Some give to God only
their ‘loose change’ both financially and in
other ways - not their ‘first fruits’ nor their
best.
Many people have different excuses why they do
not give their all to God – compromises with the
world, pleasures that they cannot live without,
or grudges that they cannot forgive. Some do not
share God to others because of fear of being
laughed at. How about you – what is your excuse
for not giving your all to God? Remember: God
does not like lukewarm people. According to
Revelations 3:15-16, He spits them out. It’s
either you go all out for God – or do not go at
all.
How do I give my all to God?
- It all starts from
within. Have you decided to follow God, with
all of your life, for the rest of your life?
Who is in your life’s driver seat? Have you
decided come hell or high waters you will
stick with God?
- Decide to know and
follow God’s will for your life, not your
own will – in all areas of your life.
- Develop habits
that helps you grow as a disciple of God.
Daily prayer, Scripture study, service, and
righteous speech patterns are some of the
good habits that draw us closer to God.
- Grow in God’s
character. Imitate his love, patience, and
service to others. Think first what would
Jesus have done if He was in your situation?
Strive to grow in holiness, which is being
set apart for God.
- Seek to become great
in God’s eyes by serving others. We live in
a Kingdom that is upside down – the more
people we care for and serve, the greater we
are in God’s eyes. Be generous to God, His
people and with others who are in need with
our time, talent and resources.
- Be willing to get out
of our comfort zone and share to others
about our life in God. Be willing to suffer
persecution as we identify ourselves with
God. Rejoice instead when this happens! See
Matthew 5:11.
- Spend time with people
who have the same mind as yours. If you hang
around with people who are lukewarm and
superficial, do you think they will help you
be all out for God?
- Aim and seek to become
a martyr, the ultimate act of giving our all
to God. Yet at this time and age, there are
probably few opportunities to be a real
martyr. How about being a daily martyr,
dying to own flesh every day, to daily
relationship difficulties, and to other
daily difficulties? This type of martyrdom
might even be harder. Why? It requires dying
every day, not just once!
Other Scripture passages:
- As a deer pants for
flowing streams, so pants my soul for you,
O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the
living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? [Psalms 42:1-2]
- O God, you are my
God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts
for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a
dry and weary land where there is no water.
[Psalms 63:1]
- How lovely is your
dwelling place, O LORD of
hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the
courts of the LORD; my
heart and flesh sing for joy to the living
God. [Psalms 84:1-2]
- Other references:
Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21;
Philippians 3:7-11; Colossians 3:1-3.
For reflecton or
sharing:
- What areas in your
life are you not releasing to God and
keeping to yourself?Why?
- In what way can you
practice daily martyrdom at home, in school,
or at work?
 |
Tom Caballes is the
National Senior Administrator and a
National Coordinator of the Lamb
of
God, a community of the Sword
of the Spirit with 7 branches
located throughout New Zealand. Tom
also leads Kairos
New
Zealand, an outreach program
for high school, university, and
post-university aged people.
Tom and his wife Mhel
and their two daughters live in
Wellington, New Zealand.
|
.l
|
