But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.
Philippians 2:17, NLT* (emphasis added)
Our “service” isn’t just what we do in church, or our volunteer activities. It’s also how we care for and interact with others on a daily basis. Do we make eye contact with the sales clerk, show courtesy in driving, remember to say thank you?
Service: not serving self but being mindful of God in our behaviour, attitudes and choices.
Offering: More than the rote giving of funds on a Sunday morning. It’s yielding our whole selves to His will, holding nothing back, in the example of Jesus Himself (Phil. 2:5-11).
Maybe that sounds dramatic. Over the top. Too hard for us. But break it down to the small choices in each day: Will I choose God’s way or my way? Grudgingly, or with a willing heart?
Mighty and loving God, You ask us to give our all. You’re worthy of our all, and we owe You our lives. You know how tightly we hold on, though. Help us surrender ourselves to You daily – moment by moment, even – because You are a good God. You love us. And You’ve paid our ransom.
∞
I’ve loved Third Day’s song, “Offering“, since I first heard it. May it be our prayer today.
*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.