When buying a new car, you can purchase a model with standard features or order one that has been custom built. In this instance, choosing particular features over others is a great benefit. However, when it comes to our obedience to the Lord, we cannot pick and choose what we will and will not do.
Sadly, many believers approach their faith in this way. They refuse to believe there is a level of accountability to which all are held. Instead, they opt for "custom-built" faith, the kind of faith that chooses what tenets of the faith are appealing while discarding the others.
It is with grace that Jesus gave—and it is with grace that we should give also.
While God allows us to make our own choices, He clearly spells out in His Word what a godly lifestyle entails: a life that models Jesus Christ. Jesus lived without sin. He honored God with every breath He took. One such way He honored God was through giving all He had for those who had nothing.
Jesus' life, death, and resurrection paved the way for mankind to have an intimate relationship with God. In fact, Christ's life is a perfect model of what it means to have intimacy with God. Throughout every trial and tribulation, throughout every victory and valley, Jesus was in perfect communion with God. He listened for the voice of His Father and responded appropriately.
As we determine to follow the model of Jesus, we must remember that every facet of His life expressed communion with God, including the act of giving. Jesus gave and gave until He could give no more. We, too, must be willing to give and give until we cannot give another breath. It is with grace that Jesus gave—and it is with grace that we should give also, being complete Christians who seek to follow every example Christ gave us.
Prayer: Lord, show me places in my life where I have held back from giving so I can give my all to You and to the good works You have prepared in advance for me to do (Ephesians 2:10). I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
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