What shall we give Him?
“Lord, you are, more precious than silver.
Lord, you are, more costly than gold.
Lord, you are, more beautiful than diamonds,
And nothing I desire compares with you.”
Lord You Are More Precious Than Silver, Oasis Worship
“5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,””
1 Peter 2:5-7:
What could we ever give - what could we ever do - to show our gratitude to the One who gave His all for us?
Just like Peter, Paul admonishes us to offer up acceptable spiritual sacrifices. (Romans 12)
In both cases we see a call to repentance and holy living. Peter calls us to set aside malice and evil, the carnal life - and to trade the lusts of the flesh for a craving of pure spiritual milk - so that we may grow in our salvation. Paul, likewise, calls us to hate what is evil, to crucify the flesh and pursue the renewing of our minds and transformation of our lives through our submission to the Word and Will of God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus tells us to store up TREASURES in Heaven.
True prosperity has nothing to do with silver or with gold.
The Psalmist says: “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.” (Psalm 119:72).
Jesus is the law made flesh - the Word incarnate and in our midst.
More precious than silver and gold, He promises true prosperity. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding, a joy unspeakable and full of glory - a life of abundance saturated with the milk and honey of His grace and mercy.
Nothing in all of the universe can compare to His love poured out - the Bread of His body broken for us, and the cup of His blood shed for our souls.
What then is a worthy response? How then should we as the recipients of this gift of grace respond?
We respond in kind. In giving our lives - our bodies, hearts and minds - to the One who gave it all for us.
We respond in kind by getting on the altar of His lovingkindness.
We respond in kind by becoming His hands and feet.
More precious than diamonds, He is the stone the builders rejected - but to those of us who believe He has become precious - the cornerstone and foundation of who we are.
And so we devote our lives to the pursuit of Him - more of Him. And as we find Him we find His will is for us to seek the lost on His behalf.
Our desire for Him and delight in Him transforms us - not only does He become our desire, but His desires become ours as well.
His purpose becomes our purpose.
We lay aside our will and our ways for His.
Prayer: Lord, come and take over. Today I give all of my desires and trade them for delight in You. Lord, let Your desires become my desires. Let my heart be set upon Your ways. Let Your ways be set within my heart. Let the fire ignited by Your love burn in me - all consuming - let it be a hunger that cannot be satisfied. Help me see the ways in which I can pursue You today Lord - turn mere minutes into Manna as I take every opportunity to pray, to praise, to worship You. As I take every opportunity to seek You today. In Jesus Name. Amen.