With All That I Am

A few weeks ago, I had my birtday. I received many gifts, large and small, lavish and humble.

But the one gift that meant the most to me, was simple. 

We had our elderly friend over for cake and ice cream. As we ate, she handed me a bent envelope with my name on it. As I tore open the paper, an old fashioned card fell out. "Happy Birthday!" it read in big, bold print. As I opened the card, a bent, torn and ragged 5 dollar bill came out. You could tell it was old, as if it had been saved up for something. Five dollars can't get you much- Maybe a coffee at StarBucks, or two donuts at Krispy Kremes. Yet, that five dollar bill felt like a treasure to me. Why? Because it was all she had. 

I had seen the trailer she lived in. 

I had seen the cracks and faults inside of it.

I had seen her hardships.

And yet she spared the five dollars she had saved up, and gave it to me. 

God wants the same from us. God wants us to give him everything we are. He doesn't mean our houses, and all our money. He means us. God wants all of us. God obviously doesn't need us, just as I didn't need those five dollars, but he gives us the opportunity to lay ourselves down at his feet and present ourselves to him. He wants our hearts. He wants our lives. He doesn't want just half of us, or a third of us, he wants ALL of us. Are you willing to give him everything? Are you willing to give your life, your heart, your mind over to Jesus? If you do, that simple gift will mean everything to Him. So with all that you are, give your whole self to Jesus. 

Not Comprehended

This world is dark.
This world is evil.
This world is painful.

Ever since Adam and Eve took and ate of the tree, sin has dominated the world. Darkness has ruled, and will continue to rule until Jesus returns for his bride. But even in the midst of the evil of this world, there is still a glimmer of light.

Jesus called us to be lights among the darkness. It really is quite the honest cliché. We go out into the darkness, eager to be that "light", but we grow dim, and our lights fade. We come back, empty handed and empty hearted. Trust me friends- It's happened to me.
That's the place where some people lose faith, and are discouraged from going back. But don't you want to break the cliché? Let's let our lights shine before men more brightly than the sun, and more continuously than the rushing river. But how? Think of an oil lamp.

By lighting it, it throws off light, enough to break the darkness. But if you leave it running without care, it will run out, and it's light will fade. It needs to be replenished constantly. We need to fill ourselves up at Jesus' well constantly too. We can't give hurting people what they need if we don't get what we need. It would be like a starving person feeding a starving person.

But we can still be that light that people need. We can pierce the darkness of this world in simple ways. You don't have to be going to Africa or preaching to criminals to be a light. Your own community needs a light. But just as the moon reflects the sun, remember that we reflect the SON. Our light is not our own- It's Jesus inside of us.

So don't be discouraged when all you see is darkness. The reason you don't see any light, is because you are the light.  We can't take all of the darkness and evil out of the world, but we can fight it.

Don't you want to be like Jesus? A "light shining in the darkness, but the darkness could not comprehend it" John 1:5

Don't give even a hint of darkness. Don't let the  world comprehend you. Don't let it understand you. Don't let it discourage you.

Because we can have faith in the everlasting light.