Day XI: Bought & Paid For

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We live in an all about me culture. But when we follow Christ... we are reminded that is not all about me. Jesus bought me with a price. Without Jesus, I was headed for "eternal destruction. The ransom to get me out was high - exceptionally high. I could never pay it, but Jesus did. Today, I am not my own. I belong to him. That means that every moment of my time is his, everything I own is his, and every step I take is his."

To be his:
We need to recognize that Christ has set us free. His grace, love, and mercy washes over us. But to become his bondservant, we must release our grip on sin and realize that all we have is a gift from God: our bodies, our strengths, our material possessions, our relationships, our everything. Therefore, we should "Hold things loosely"(Dale Bynum) because God loves a cheerful giver... not a hoarder.

Oh boy, is this something I continually learn. I was the youngest of three. As a child, everything was mine.

This past week I was convicted of how small things can get to us. I came home and my watercolor paints were laying open by the sink, not where I left them. They looked wet and I was just a smidge away from finishing my large painting. I would finish with just enough black. My first reaction was someone used my paints. I was a little frustrated. Oh, how tiny that was.

And then, I stopped. Oh, Jesus. These are not my paints. And what would it have mattered if they used those paints? Those were a gift from you. My money is really yours, used for your needs. Forgive me. Oh, I am so selfish. Teach me to share all to those in need, for everything I have, is yours.

So needless to say, I am continually learning this and my selfishness is being revealed and changed. It's actually very freeing to know that all this is not mine. "When we realize that all our possessions are a gift from God, we are much more openhanded and generous with them... it is a joy to use every possession and every minute to honor him and help people. It is much easier to give away something that I realize does not belong to me in the first place."


All quotes in this post that are not the Bible or followed by another person's name are from David Nasser's A Call to Die