Monday, January 21, 2013

Giving my life to Jesus?

What does it mean, or what does it look like to give my life to Jesus?

I know that I have been given a spiritual gift and, though I am still figuring out what that is, I know deep down that there is so much more to it than recognizing and using that gift.
And I will certainly do the following: I will bow down to Him as King and I will claim His name and and I will proclaim His victory. And I will hold tight to the knowledge that nothing in all of creation can separate me from Him. And I will worship Him in song and dance and, though I struggle, I will share His good news and carry out wonders through the power He has bestowed upon me through the Holy Spirit who now lives within me. And I will marvel at His beauty daily and I will commune with Him in prayer, aloud in company and silently when I am alone. And I will love others and acknowledge everything I have as His, not clinging tightly to it but sharing my home, food, money, my care and my time with those who need it. I will give up what He tells me to and make Him the top rung on my ladder. Though distracted, I will strive to put Him first before everything and everyone. And I will seek understanding in His word; through counsel, teaching, fellowship, study and the power of the Spirit who reveals truth through His word.
But - what does it look like to give my life to Him? I ask Him all the time for good things and He gives to me abundantly, and He has given His very own life for mine. So, now how do I live FOR Him and not just BECAUSE of Him? I will tell Him that it is His. I will offer it up as a living sacrifice and trust it in His hands and trust His lead, for He knows how to best put it to use. I will confess to Him my doubts and fears and failures and admit that I really don't know how to do it on my own, that I am nothing without Him, that I NEED Him. And I will wait expectantly to watch Him in His marvelous action (Psalm 5:3). And I will ask Him what to do and where to go and how to handle situations, and when to speak and when to be silent and for Him to take my life and to use it - to make me His hands and feet. And I will move and act when He says even when it doesn't make complete sense. I will offer myself to Him and in doing all these things I will learn to hear His voice and discern it from all others. - And in doing so, I will realize that what follows is a choice of obedience to the extent of my individual understanding and ability and that His grace will cover the rest. And I will know then, what giving my life to Jesus looks like.