What If I Give All?

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliot

God's desire for us is that we give all to Him - all of our problems, burdens, pain and sorrow, but most of all we give ourselves to Him. How much of you and yours are you giving to God?

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. John 6:5-6

Jesus already had a plan. Often, in our lives when we are busy trying to solve our problems, what we need to do is be still and quiet and see what the plan is that God already has in mind.

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:15-16

Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” John 6:7

When Jesus tells us to do something we believe cannot be done, what is our initial response? Often it is denial and an attempt to evade and avoid the issue on our journey to discover that anything is possible when we give all to God. 

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” John 6:8-9

The disciples displayed a hopelessness each of us have experienced. Like these disciples, we may think we don't have very much to bring to Him. But you don't need riches to give all, we just need to bring to Him what we have. It may be that the world has been denied miracles because we did not give all to Him. Jesus wants us to give ourselves to Him. He wants to be first place in our lives. When we realize that, it removes so much stress from our lives.

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:10-11

It seems impossible to us that five loaves of bread and two fish would feed that many people. It just doesn't add up. But when you insert Jesus into the formula, things change. Without Him you have hopelessness. But if you put Jesus into the equation, then there is hope. There is always hope in Jesus Christ. The impossible becomes possible through the power of Jesus Christ.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. John 6:12-13

We see here not only the sufficiency of the care of Jesus Christ, but the abundance of Jesus and what He can do for us. Jesus wants to pour out His blessings upon us. Imagine what he can do to us and for us if we give all. God made all there is and he is allowing us to use some of those things for a while. He does not need what we have, He already owns them anyway. He just wants us to give ourselves, and doing that, we can find real fulfillment.

Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10b

When we give all without reservation, but serve Him with joy and gladness, then we will have abundant blessings - richness beyond anything this world has to offer.

The Christian Walk

The New Testament calls the life we live in Christ the walk. It begins when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Just as a physical walk progresses us in our travels, our Christian walk progresses us in our relationship with God. In our Christian life, we start out just as a baby, crawling then learning to walk before we can ever think of running.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7 

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 

For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16 

Walk In The Light 

It is a lot easier to walk without falling when you are walking in the light. 

The time during which 1 John was written was a time of spiritual darkness. A group of false teachers had emerged who denied many things, one being that Jesus had come in the flesh. Many people of that time followed these false teachers. John wanted those who had accepted Jesus Christ to walk in the light. He wanted them to grow and progress in their faith and not waiver. John expresses that God is not only light, but there is NO darkness or evil in Him. 

We as His children, walking in His light should reflect in our actions what we believe. We must continually ask ourselves if our actions reflect His teachings. There are many things in this world that attempt to pull us away from the light into the darkness. When we accept Christ we have a spiritual nature, but we do not lose our natural human nature. We struggle with our dual nature. Even as we strive to live in the light, there is always that pull towards darkness. John's message is as relevant today as it was then. We need close fellowship with the Lord, to walk in the light and keep away from that darkness that wants to pull us away.

Walk In Fellowship

As John wrote this letter, he was writing to Christian people. We are to be in fellowship with one another. As we travel through our Christian life, in our Christian walk, we do it together. It so important in our Christian walk to be to walk with others. And best of all, Jesus is also walking with us. Walking in His light is the best path as we walk through this life. Have you been walking your path alone? If so have you been discouraged along the way? We do not have to walk alone. As Christians, we have each other to encourage us through whatever comes across our path. Christians should not live in isolation from one another. We really do need one another. We have much greater opportunity to make a difference for our Lord if we work together. 

Walk In Forgiveness 

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6 

Here Paul talks about being thankful for one another; he talks about praying for one another; he talks about partnering together with the confidence that He saved us and He will continue to work in us to complete the walk. We need to walk in the light and walk together and walk in forgiveness. 

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:8-10 

Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. It is great to receive it and to be the one to offer forgiveness. We are all sinners and to claim to be without it is a lie because we are all guilty. Our God is a faithful and just God and He will forgive us. However, the fact that we have this forgiveness does not give us free reign to sin over and over with the expectation that all we have to do is ask to be forgiven. If we are His children, He is the best Father that has ever been and as such, He will discipline us. 

How is your walk? Are you walking in the light, in fellowship with other Christians, in His forgiveness?