“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord”
–Colossians 3:23
“He’s got a piece of my heart,” we say. “Do you want a piece of me?” we ask the confronter. Throughout the day, our schedules are divided into pieces: a half an hour block here, fifteen minutes there. For many of us, it sometimes feels like life is in pieces.
As John Stonestreet once said: “we do not have lives, but life.” One life. One heart, one mouth, one schedule that we can live out at once.
How, when we divide our lives into pieces in our minds and hearts, can we at the same time work with all our hearts for God? Or love Him with our whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul? We don’t often seem to recognize the whole of any of these.
Without that recognition, how can we give God our best? How do we even know what our best is?
All of the Scriptural statements about giving the best, flawless lambs (and other awe-worthy sacrifices) always frustrate me. I’ve never seen a flawless thing in my life. But my eyes are corrupt. My understanding is, too. Surely there was some standard in those Old Testament days. And there is now. Under the law of freedom in Christ as redeemed, adopted people…
The best we have to give is that which God has given us.
He has called His gifts to us good and He is the standard of good! What better to give Him than what He has declared good?
That sounds a little more feasible, doesn’t it? He never asks the impossible of us. The charge to do all to the glory of God is not there to show us how we fail, but how He succeeds in working with us, on us, and through us.
Invite God into every part and piece of your heart and your day. Ask Him into the moments you struggle and the moments of joy and praise. Offer Him the work before you so that it can be His- it will be better than what you could do on your own.
Share with Him all those pieces that He says will be made whole, and they can be wholly His and for His glory.
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What a gift to be made whole, to have the pieces put together into a new creation, and to know that God has a plan that we can throw our whole heart into along with him! Thanks so much for this invitation to trust.
Great thoughts here, Bethany! You’re right. So often, we are divided into pieces. When this is the case, it IS hard to give God all of us. It’s only as we do though, that we become whole. I loved what you said here: “The best we have to give is that which God has given us.”
God has given us all we need so we can love Him and enjoy Him and draw ever closer to Him. He’s given us Himself. And He’s equipped us for what He’s called us to do. How thankful I am for that!
Amen. What God has given us is His gift to us and what we do to these gifts are what we offer Him. Whenever I get lazy working, I always remember to work not for the client or myself but for God.
Yes Bethany, we need to invite the Lord into every area of our lives. Thinking of you friend. How are you?
Blessings to you