Give Him More

“By and by, when I look on His face, I’ll wish I had given Him more.” So goes the song that I remember noticing as a little girl, and even then, I was challenged by those words. They make me think of the day when I will stand before Jesus and finally, fully understand what it cost Him to redeem me. I will see His nail-pierced hands and know that they were pierced for me. Will regret and shame fill my heart, or will I be able to fall on my knees and rejoice that I spent my life in whole-hearted service to my Savior?

Oh, this world we live in is so distracting! And as another songwriter put it, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” Too often, I find my focus drawn away from eternal things. I find myself consumed with the things of this life that are so unimportant in the light of eternity! But thank God, He tenderly draws me back and challenges me anew to think about the day I will see Him. That’s the day to prepare for and He is the One to live for.

Over and over in Scripture, we see a call to sold-out discipleship and commitment to Christ. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (Matthew 16:24-25).

Jesus doesn’t force us to serve Him or follow Him. He calls us. He holds out His nail-scarred hands and offers us eternal treasures and joy beyond imagination if we will follow. But at the same time, the world calls, holding out its glittering trinkets, offering us temporary pleasure if we will give ourselves to it. And the way that Jesus calls us to is not easy. It involves self-denial, a taking up of a cross. And what is a cross? It’s a place where one goes to die. It’s very final. It’s very painful. But it is so very worth it.

So, we have to choose. Just as did Moses. In the Faith Hall of Fame, Hebrews 11, we see the choice described that he made: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible (Hebrews 12:24-27).

By faith! When my commitment to Christ grows dim or cold, it is always because my faith has grown dim. I’ve stopped looking at Jesus and His sufficiency. But when I seek His face and choose to believe Him over the voices of the world and the flesh, there is such abundant joy and fulfilment

How did Moses forsake the treasures of Egypt? He looked beyond—to the eternal, to the God Who was calling Him. He knew that God was more real than the life he could have in Egypt, and that there awaited eternal blessings and rewards, even if this life was one of difficulty and pain.

It’s an interesting thing, but Moses did all of this—and he was not a blood-bought child of God. He couldn’t look to the cross and say, “There my Savior redeemed me.” He did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, or the complete word of God. He did not know the love of Christ as we can know it. How much more then should we, bought with the price of Jesus’ blood, willingly give Him our all? Willingly yield our lives to Him

If we live right now with our eyes on the cross, letting the love of Christ constrain us, we will not have to face our Savior with regrets someday. It will be so beautifully humbling to stand face to face with the One Who gave His life for us! My desire is that I could stand before Him and say, “I wish I had more to give You, but by Your grace alone, I gave you all I had!”

Dear sisters, will you join me in searching our lives, seeking the Lord, laying it all on the altar, and allowing Him to have His way in our lives no matter what the cost? Will you join me in seeking to give Him more?

Lord, we are so very thankful for all You have done for us, though we can only begin to comprehend it. Show us how we can give You more. We know that we can never repay You for all You’ve done for us, but we are so grateful for Your love, and we want to give ourselves completely and utterly to You. Help us to deny ourselves and follow You wherever You lead. Show us, Lord, how very worthy You are of our love and devotion!

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).