All your life And None at all

Dear Connect Group Leaders,

Feel that it is time I need to write some things to address certain values and attitude in life. So are you ready to ‘Climb Mountain’? Put on your seats belts and get ready to fly!

One major problem that people face about rising up in God’s kingdom is to trust God in the sacrifices he makes. How many sacrifices should one make before you scream it is enough? How many sacrifices do you have to do before God will answer your prayer?

ANS: ALL YOUR LIFE PLUS NONE AT ALL

Why so? God says that if we got to follow Him, we need to lay down our life, seek first the kingdom of God and take up the cross and follow Him, which includes leaving our family, our finances, our friends, our career, our favourite games and sports…etc. According to all these points, it means we have to sacrifice ALL OUR LIFE. Every aspects of our life, we got to put God first. And that is how I want to live my life. Everyday I am trying to put God first by sacrificing my interests and my life by doing what God wants me to do. Because I have realized that the BEST way to tell someone I am behind you is not through words and smses, but through your ACTIONS. That is EXACTLY what Jesus did. Not only did he say through words, he follow up with actions.

But on the other hand, what do I mean by NONE AT ALL? For me, I know in my heart, my life is given to me WHOLLY by God. I am alive on this earth, because God created me and placed me here to learn and do what I have to do. If I count my life to be given by God wholeheartedly, then my life would belong FULLY to my saviour. What can then be constitutes a sacrifice when I do not even own ANYTHING I have on this earth?

My family is given to me by God.
My ministry is given to me by God.
My finances is given to me by God.
My friends are given to me by God
My career is given to me by God.
My favourite games are given to me by God
My sports are given to me by God…etc

So does giving all these things up constitute sacrifices when you do not even own any of them at all? To me, it doesn’t,. It does not make sense if someone e.g. borrow your book and refused to return you. And the best part about God is that he doesn’t borrow us all the things in life. He GAVE us family, friends…etc, because He love us. And if all these in life is a gift from God, then why would giving them up consider much of a sacrifice at all? Without God, I would never have experience all these.

And one of the pitfalls for rising up in God will be: “I have make enough sacrifices.”
God will never reply, I have given you enough blessings. There isn’t a STOP to sacrifices, if LOVE never ends. When you have the mindset, that many sacrifices that you have make are too little to be counted next to Jesus, you probably would have just shut up and do what you have to do. Many times, people complain about making sacrifices, because they think they do a lot, they feel they give a lot. But if God neither complains about giving you too much, then neither should you complain about giving God too much.

Summary
I live my life for God.
I counted all things I have done for Him small and tiny in comparison to what He has done for me.
I know my life wholly belongs to my saviour.
There isn’t much to say of a sacrifice when the things I have do not belong to me.
If love never ends, sacrifices never ends…