Give to God

Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.                        Mark 12.17

There is a lesson in this quotation that might well be passed over in the tradition of the story.

God says, “I am the LORD your God,...You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod. 20.2, 3).

Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12.30).

This is very clear. To me it is simply saying: Put God before anything and everything else. Make Him your absolute priority.

Yet I wonder how often we might be tempted to put other things before God – things of the flesh, or worldly want or desires. We may not consciously be aware that we are doing it. Without realising it we may be giving to the world what really we should be giving to God.

Lord God,

I truly want to give You the highest place in my life. I look to love You with all of my being. I want nothing but You to occupy that place of supreme worship, adoration and obedience in who I am and what I do. There is none like You. You are my everything. I rejoice in the life I have in You.

I pray that nothing will tempt or provoke me to waver in this. Whatever material needs I may have, I surrender these to You for Your absolute provision. If health issues assail me, I ask You to lead me through in glorious communion to ultimate victory.

I pray that Your grace will enable and allow me to live in right and good relationship with all other people such that my prime relationship with You is not compromised in any way.

Be Lord of my body, my mind, my emotions and my spirit. Show me Your ways. Lead me always in Your ways. Let me never transgress from Your path. I look to You in my weakness for, surely, Your grace is sufficient for me. Hallelujah! I praise Your Name.             Amen.