Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
“Something for Thee”
Savior, Thy dying love
Thou gavest me,
Nor should I aught withhold,
Dear Lord, from Thee:
In love my soul would bow,
My heart fulfill its vow,
Some off’ring bring Thee now,
Something for Thee.
At the blest mercy seat,
Pleading for me,
My feeble faith looks up,
Jesus, to Thee:
Help me the cross to bear,
Thy wondrous love declare,
Some song to raise, or pray’r,
Something for Thee.
Give me a faithful heart,
Likeness to Thee,
That each departing day
Henceforth may see
Some work of love begun,
Some deed of kindness done,
Some wand’rer sought and won,
Something for Thee.
All that I am and have,
Thy gifts so free,
In joy, in grief, thro’ life,
Dear Lord, for Thee!
And when Thy face I see,
My ransom’d soul shall be,
Thro’ all eternity,
Something for Thee.
S. Dryden Phelps (1816-1895) in “Something for Thee” (1862).
The lyrics of this old hymn touched my heart. I found them as I am looking at kindness back through church history.
In the first stanza, we are gripped by the sacrificial love of Christ for us. Our response is to give our lives in service to Him.
In the second one, we are reminded that our risen Christ is interceding for us as we live out our feeble faith. Our purpose is to make known His love.
By the third one, we find a prayer. It’s a prayer for a faithful heart to stay the course, day by day, in showing love and kindness to the lost and wandering.
Then in the last stanza we see unbridled generosity. We give all we are and all we have to God. He was the gift for us, and we are a gift back to Him.
Father, thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus. Strengthen our feeble faith by your Holy Spirit. Show your love and kindness through us. Receive us as something for thee. Amen.
Today I fly to Seattle for a prayer and discernment retreat with the founding board of Global Trust Partners, the international entity formed by ECFA on 11 December 2018.
We will seclude ourselves on Whidbey Island for a few days, thankful for God’s love, that Jesus cares more about this work than we do, and that the Spirit will guide us.
Take this “Something for Thee” posture before the Lord today. Afresh, take up your cross. Give all you are and all you have to Jesus and make known His love and kindness to the world.