Give a little
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave…”
This time last year, by 11 pm or thereabout, it was raining heavily and there was an electrical outage, one thing led to another and I found myself bawling my eyes out to Maverick City’s ‘We Have Hope’. I was in so much pain on that night that it forced me to imagine how much pain Jesus felt on the night he was escorted from the cross to the grave.
A year has passed since then, I am no longer in pain. In fact, God has used me, and all the experiences I got from the pain to help those who are going through pain.
The God of all comfort.
In the past year, I have learnt a good deal about love and giving. You can’t love without giving. It is not possible. When you love, you don’t hold back on your giving. You give everything, both material and immaterial just to your lover satisfied.
No offering is too great when you are in love.
No deed is too grand when you are in love.
No sacrifice is too big for love.
Loving is giving and giving is loving.
I struggle with love like this. Because I have been forced to give of myself at times when I wanted to keep back for myself. I have been forced to think beyond the realm of ME, and to leave my interests behind all in the name of love. And on the rare occasion, when the object of my affection could not give for me like I gave for them, I have felt a pain so intense, that shook me to the core of my being.
I reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice and I see how much I am yet to be perfected in love. I have been forced to give of myself, sometimes grudgingly, sometimes out of compulsion, sometimes only because of the influence of the inward witness, but Jesus, Sweet Lord Jesus. He gave of himself over and again, and when that was not enough, he gave himself.
A sacrifice so great that 2,023 years later we still celebrate this great show of love. The funny part is that, if there was no crown, he would still have given; if there was no glory in the end, he would still have given; dare I say.
What is He calling you to give today?
What is he asking you to let go of?
Lay it all on the cross today, because Sunday is coming.
