::R0580 : page 7::

IS ALL REALLY HIS?

Men and women sing, “My body, soul and spirit, Jesus, I give to thee,” and yet we see them living to themselves; they sing, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small,” and yet the offering which they make to God is the merest fraction of their possessions. Reader, how much do you give to the Lord? Have you ever taken the position of being yourself the Lord’s, and therefore all you have His property? Then how much is it consistent for you to appropriate to the Lord? Is your business the Lord’s, do you conduct it for Him or for the making of a name and a position for yourself? Do you train your children for the Lord, and care that their education shall be such as shall most serve the purpose of your God? Are your household arrangements such that they are elastic when the work of God calls for a change of meal-times, etc.? Is God first in the house? Is He considered above all others? Is your position in society the Lord’s to be used or neglected just as it serves God’s purpose? Do you make a practice of being faithful to those in your own position in life, letting them clearly see that God is first with you, caring nothing for the contempt in which they hold you? Is your money the Lord’s, so that you practice the strictest economy in board, lodging, clothing and traveling, that you may have all the rest for Jesus? If not, are you not keeping back “part of the price?”—Selected.

====================

— January, 1884 —