Day Seventeen ~ What Lack I Yet?

Till thou hast paid

the very last mite.

-Luke 12:59

His suit was well worn and out of place with the crisp, sharp suits the other missionaries wore. But the boy did have one thing in common with the other elders; they had arrived at the mission home for the first time. As the missionaries prepared to leave for their assigned areas, the mission president pulled the humble boy from South America aside and asked him where he had gotten his suit. He explained that his father had taken it off after church the Sunday before he left on his mission and had placed it in his small suitcase. Looking down, the mission president asked where the elder's weathered shoes had come from. The missionary replied that his father had taken them off his feet when they arrived at the aiport and had given them to him just as he was ready to leave.

The boy's humble family had given all they had so this young man could serve the Lord.

~Read the account of the rich young man in Mark 10:17-22 and the widow's mite in Mark 41-44

Do we willingly give all that we have to serve the Lord? It means more than just giving the visiting teaching message;it's being the friend. It means adding the final touches every time we serve in callings. It means paying just a little more in our fast offerings, knowing that our small efforts will make a significant difference to someone in need. It means getting out of our comfort zone to talk to someone new at church. It means remembering that "in the quiet heart in hidden sorrow that the eye can't see" (Hymn No 220) and learning to be less critical and more understanding.

Although it is hard to imagine at the time of the sacrifice, we recieve, in the giving, something of far greater worth in its place.

~Think of someone you know who has given all in service to the Lord. What lesson can you learn from that person? How can you be more like him or her?

~Commit today to give all you have in your service to the Lord. Choose one area where you feel you can give more. What changes will this require in your daily routines?