Give Your Life Like It's Already God's

Filled up and poured out

I enjoy coffee as much as the next person, but there is something so cozy about a cup of chamomile tea with honey. The scent of herbs and the sugary sweetness wafting up from the cup are a comfort to the soul. It’s basically a hug in a mug.

If you want to experience this delicious, relaxing beverage, you’ll need a kettle. Kettles are designed for one thing: To boil water that will then be poured out. It wasn't designed to store water for long periods. If you have left water for a while in your kettle, you’ll probably have noticed some undesirable scum hanging out near the bottom. It would also be ridiculous to use a kettle to display flowers.

In the same way, you were designed much like a kettle: To be filled up and poured out. Sacrifice and generosity are the hallmarks of a vibrant follower of Jesus. However, I can say from experience that this does not come easy.

Have you ever found yourself focused on entertainment, hobbies, or friendships with little thought about others’ needs? You might be waiting on someone else to take the lead in reaching out to you, praying for you, or giving you what you need, hardly realizing how little you’ve contributed. Like me, maybe you have caught yourself sitting in front of a TV or phone for hours when your family needs your care and attention. Maybe you do give, but you always leave plenty in reserve, giving less than your best to others.

On the other hand, have you ever noticed how, when you’ve given too much and feel empty, it’s natural to want to cover up your lack with flashy bouquets of skill, talent, your looks? Do you tend to drive yourself to the edge of exhaustion and ignore your body's limitations? Is your hope in what you can accomplish if you push a little more?

I identify with both of these approaches, and I suspect many of you do too. I fill myself to the max and hold on to as much as possible. At the same time, I push beyond my capacity, covering it up with defense mechanisms and posturing. Neither brings long-term joy or satisfaction.

There is a better way

Jesus, in his typical, confounding fashion, presents us with two seemingly opposing approaches to life. First, he tells us that he, “…came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Love compelled the creator of the universe to put on flesh and blood as the Son of Man. He suffered in many ways and was betrayed, tortured, and executed. He did this to reconnect sinful, broken humanity to himself, paying the price that we could never pay to free us from slavery to ourselves. He calls us to follow him, abandoning our self-centered ways and pouring ourselves out for others. In fact, being made in the image of God, we are designed to love sacrificially in the same way he does. Any other way of living will go against how we were created. We cannot simply be filled and whistle like a kettle all the time. If we only ever hold onto what we’ve been given, we will boil down and become nothing but a vapor. We must extend our blessing to others.

Now my analogy of the kettle completely fails in one beautiful aspect: Unlike the kettle, we will never be made dry or empty when we give the way Jesus gives. Instead, Jesus shared another staggering promise: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

When Jesus rose from the dead, he invited us into a new life and spiritual economy. Those who only think about their needs go empty, whereas those who pour themselves out are filled again. As we fill ourselves with his Word and truth, he expands the truth in us through the Holy Spirit. This is a marvelous, joyous idea.

God desires that we give lavishly, but he does not call us to live a sacrificial life that will leave us empty. Instead, beyond all our comprehension, we are filled as we give! Sacrificing our time, finances, preferences, and desires to God yields remarkable fruit. He promises that he is a good Father who gives good gifts (Matt. 7:9–11). It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.

Next steps

With Jesus’ words ringing in your ears, what is your next step? What time do you need to make available for others? What money is God calling you to give? What energy do you have that would bless someone? What other resources or skills are you not using for God’s glory? Where do you need to sacrifice your comfort or convenience to serve others? What verses can you add to your daily prayers to remind you of the faithfulness of God’s blessing to you?

I pray that you entrust everything you have to God's wisdom and guidance. Give because you’ve already given your whole life to God. There’s nothing to lose! This may look completely different for each of us, but the central principle is the same: We give as we are led with our time, money, love, prayers, and our very selves with joy and peace in our souls. Let us be givers on a magnificent scale! A scale not measured simply by amounts or percentages; an altar on which we lay our hard work, faith, prayers, and tears.

Imagine if every follower of Jesus walked in Jesus’ footsteps of sacrifice, and operated from a trust in the promise that we will never be empty again. Always giving and experiencing the grace that only flows from obeying Jesus. What a church we would be!