God's Giving

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, 

how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8.32)

"Delivered up" ... "give" ... what do the words mean to us?

     God takes His own, 

          and gives Him to us,

               to be our own.

That which is given is irrevocably gone. 

It is now possessed by the recipient of the gift.

I wonder how much self-gratification there is in most of what we call giving?

How much somehow returns to us in one form or another?

I wonder how much self gratification there is in most of what we "give" to God?

     Maybe it is not the "losing" which pleases us?

          but the return in direct, or indirect, ways.

God's giving ... true giving ... is different - there is no measuring of return,

     no careful calculating the measure of the gift.

Can we give to him in the same way?

Don't we tend to give enough and no more?

     Man asks the question, "how much do I need to give?"

          What is meant is, "how little can I give?"

At this time of year we remember, and think of God's gift.

     I wonder, can we begin to understand the measure of that Gift?

          God gave His Son and freely gave all else beside.

Again, let us respond to that great Gift,

So let us extend ourselves to the abundance of the "all things" which He longs to give us,

     things which as yet we have not seen,

          things which go beyond all our limits of vision and experience -

                an abundance which is of the eternal realm of God.

"For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in him." (Colossians 2: 9,10)

     God's Fulness for our Emptiness - 

          this is the measure of God's gift.

Part of a hymn by Francis Ridley Havergal comes to mind:

     "I gave, I gave My life for thee,
      What hast thou giv'n for Me?"

Let us worship -

                     Let us give back to Him the life we owe Him.