Honestly, I have nothing to give, nothing to offer. I have a desire to give to God, but in reality, as I survey my life there is nothing to give that is of my own making. Sure, I can do all kinds of good things, and say I offer them to God, but are they really mine to offer? Hasn’t God’s Word said that all good things come from Him, and that He has prepared good works for us to accomplish? So, they’re not really mine, right?
How could I ever truly give to God something that is of my own making, something that I own or have created? It is a perplexing current in my heart that moves me from gratitude to shame to despair. And that is not of God, but of the flesh and evil.
So here I am. Perplexed. Empty, yet full. Grateful and depressed at the same time. How is it that God even tolerates me. Why is it that my heart and soul have become a battlefield where humanity and holiness are entwined. It’s a difficulty yet to be comprehended much less mastered. I feel lost yet I know exactly where I am.
Over the years my constant prayer has been for faith, understanding and direction, yet my deepest prayer is one asking for wisdom. And wisdom is the lighthouse of God bringing the soul of humankind closer to Him while demanding the incomprehensible from the receiver. In a sense, wisdom is the gavel in the courtroom, the light brighter than the eye can see.
Friends, life is difficult. Life is filled with change, and that is never easy. The question that life presents to every person is “why?” Why am I here? What is my purpose? How do I get there, and how do I know that I’m on the right track? In so many ways, life and the wisdom of God intersect in the human heart demanding a response, a course. And many times, I choose to follow “my” course in response to the issue of “why.”
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the writer determines that all of life is vanity, pure vanity. That the lures of worldliness are simple traps, luring us in as a Venus flytrap waits patiently for the insect. It highlights the fact that death is imminent, making human pride absolutely absurd. It destroys naïve optimism, as life is not always fair.
In desperation and darkness, the human heart, my heart, is driven to seek even deeper. Surely there is a reason, a purpose, something that will fulfill the longing of my heart. And wisdom points the way …
The answer is only found in one place. In a place of the rejected, the foolish and the enduring. While life is pure vanity, our Creator and God is found to be the purpose and answer I have been searching for. He is there. He has always been there even though I was distracted by the lures of worldliness. I was lost, and he found me. And yet for so many these words are simply unbridled foolishness.
As I receive wisdom from God, I also see the world as it is. It’s foolishness. Its seductive promises, and I realize my need for God and how desperately worthless I am without Him. And I respond with gratitude intending to offer to God something of value to show Him how grateful I am, how repentant I am. But I have nothing. Nothing of value. I do have accomplishments, notoriety and worldly status. However in comparison, I see them as an insult to God as an offering.
So, the question remains. What do I have to offer to God in gratitude for what He has done in my life? How can I express to Him the repentant attitude of my heart and soul? Its simple really … I offer Him my heart, life, soul and everything else … He becomes the very breath that I take …
How could I ever truly give to God something that is of my own making, something that I own or have created? It is a perplexing current in my heart that moves me from gratitude to shame to despair. And that is not of God, but of the flesh and evil.
So here I am. Perplexed. Empty, yet full. Grateful and depressed at the same time. How is it that God even tolerates me. Why is it that my heart and soul have become a battlefield where humanity and holiness are entwined. It’s a difficulty yet to be comprehended much less mastered. I feel lost yet I know exactly where I am.
Over the years my constant prayer has been for faith, understanding and direction, yet my deepest prayer is one asking for wisdom. And wisdom is the lighthouse of God bringing the soul of humankind closer to Him while demanding the incomprehensible from the receiver. In a sense, wisdom is the gavel in the courtroom, the light brighter than the eye can see.
Friends, life is difficult. Life is filled with change, and that is never easy. The question that life presents to every person is “why?” Why am I here? What is my purpose? How do I get there, and how do I know that I’m on the right track? In so many ways, life and the wisdom of God intersect in the human heart demanding a response, a course. And many times, I choose to follow “my” course in response to the issue of “why.”
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the writer determines that all of life is vanity, pure vanity. That the lures of worldliness are simple traps, luring us in as a Venus flytrap waits patiently for the insect. It highlights the fact that death is imminent, making human pride absolutely absurd. It destroys naïve optimism, as life is not always fair.
In desperation and darkness, the human heart, my heart, is driven to seek even deeper. Surely there is a reason, a purpose, something that will fulfill the longing of my heart. And wisdom points the way …
The answer is only found in one place. In a place of the rejected, the foolish and the enduring. While life is pure vanity, our Creator and God is found to be the purpose and answer I have been searching for. He is there. He has always been there even though I was distracted by the lures of worldliness. I was lost, and he found me. And yet for so many these words are simply unbridled foolishness.
As I receive wisdom from God, I also see the world as it is. It’s foolishness. Its seductive promises, and I realize my need for God and how desperately worthless I am without Him. And I respond with gratitude intending to offer to God something of value to show Him how grateful I am, how repentant I am. But I have nothing. Nothing of value. I do have accomplishments, notoriety and worldly status. However in comparison, I see them as an insult to God as an offering.
So, the question remains. What do I have to offer to God in gratitude for what He has done in my life? How can I express to Him the repentant attitude of my heart and soul? Its simple really … I offer Him my heart, life, soul and everything else … He becomes the very breath that I take …