Intended for God's Use

Scripture Verse that Caught my attention today: 1 John 5:3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,

Observation: This verse could perhaps be paraphrased, “Loving God is Easy.”

Application: I’m not sure that loving God is really easy. Yet there is something to be said for the idea that God’s commandments are not burdensome. Perhaps the only time that God’s commandments are burdensome is when we mistakenly think they are depriving us of fun.
In the greater scheme of things, God’s commandments free us to more easily love God and neighbor. But that, of course, requires us to not be so fixated on ourselves. It’s hard to truly love God or neighbor when, in the back of our minds, we’re always thinking “so what’s in it for me?”

Ironically, there is a lot in it for us. In fact, through the cross we see clearly that God is in it for us! In Christ we are given infinite value, infinite hope, even infinite life.

This morning I saw a quote, the most striking portion of which said simply, “I want to be used up when I die.”

I love that quote, even though I don’t yet know its original source. When we consider the depth of God’s love for us, it seems the only reasonable and natural response is to offer ourselves for God’s use. In other words, let God use us up until there’s nothing left for us to offer. At that point we can die in peace. We can also die trusting that, by the grace of God, we will rise again.

Of course, we don’t always get to be all used up before we die. Some, due to accident, illness, war, violence, and the like, die seemingly before they are anywhere near used up. But even then those who appeared to have been in the process of being used up tend to stand out.

Jesus was all used up when he died. In the modern sports vernacular, he “left it all on the field.” There was nothing left to give. As it says in the Gospel of John, “he loved them to the end.”

I wonder what it would take for the same to be said of those of us who endeavor to follow him.

Prayer: Lord, use me as you wish…and help me to be okay with that. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Jeremiah 33-34, Psalm 74, 1 John 5)