Why Does God Get Seconds?

Okay. I have to take a moment and just vent!

We have an incredible God, right? We have a God who can supply ALL of our needs, right? We serve a God who WANTS to bless us beyond anything we could imagine, right?

So WHY DO WE GIVE HIM OUR SECONDS?

I know this a blog 'geared' toward leading artists, but sometimes I just need to challenge our thinking as Christ followers.

God gave us the BEST He had to offer in His Son. It cost Him dearly! God didn't send down some second class being to be the sacrifice for us losers. God wanted to offer us the VERY BEST He had to give us. I can't even begin to imagine what He must have gone through watching the last days of Christ's life. He knew the outcome. But it had to be like watching a bad movie and not being able to turn away. Painful? We will never know the extent of pain He had to feel. And yet, God let His Son go through it because of His indescribable love for us. I don't know about you, but I know that I am not worthy of this kind of sacrifice.

And what does God want in return for His sacrifice? That we would simply follow Christ and obey Him. Scripture says if we love Him, we will obey Him. (John 14:23) It should be a natural response - or at least you'd think it would be. Instead what do we do?

We justify why we can't give Him our time, talent and treasure. We justify that God really wouldn't want us to give up so much for Him. We convince ourselves that we don't have to give like the Bible says because we would have to give up something else that we want - which means we won't get what we want. We have bought into the lie that we NEED all of these things to 'survive' in this life.

So, we give God the leftovers - sometimes literally. Tell me how that's right? Why do we allow our churches to function on 'just enough to get by' when it comes to the budget? Why do we allow our children and youth ministries to 'just make due with what you have'? Why do most of our churches look like crap, and our homes look like castles?

We give God our seconds. Period.

We don't trust Him enough to say, "God, here's my life and all I have. All you ask of me is a measly 10% of my income. All you ask of me is to find a place where I have a passion to serve You, then go and serve there. All you ask of me is to share with others the incredible grace You have shown me."

God didn't give you seconds, so stop giving Him yours.
If you haven't yet got to the point where you are tithing (10% of your income) then start this weekend. Trust that God, the One you claim as your personal Lord and Savior, will DO WHAT HE SAYS HE'LL DO!
If you aren't serving in some way in your church, then start this weekend looking for someplace where you can plug in. Ask your pastor/leaders in your church what's out there. Be prepared to tell them what you have a passion for, then find someplace to share that passion. Serve Him with the very best you have!
Lastly, who are you inviting to hear YOUR story? Who are you telling it to? Who are you inviting to come to church with you to hear about Jesus? We are to share the Good News, not hide it!

Here's a scary thought: if all the people in our churches would tithe regularly, the church could effectively impact - even eliminate - most of our social problems.

So let's get after it. Let's give God our very best - not our sloppy seconds!

Thanks for letting me vent...hopefully I'll see you in church.