“I want to be what God wants me to be. I want to do what God wants me to do. I want God to use me.”
As far as I know, this is the heart cry of most people who feel called by God to serve Him.
I know it’s my heart cry.
Of course, there’s an element of pride involved. We’d be foolish to deny it. But I think most of us just want to honor God and, in the end, feel like we’ve done something to advance His Kingdom. Bring Him glory. Bless His heart.
We love Him big so we want to do something “big.”
But what if “big” never happens? What if our obedience never yields the kind of results that draw attention? What if the words we speak (or write) never reach a big audience? What if no one ever recognizes our efforts or tries to do things the way we did them?
Have we failed? Have we missed something? Are our love and service worth less than others’?
No.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul talked about being poured out as a drink offering (2 Timothy 4:6). This simile referenced the Old Testament practice of pouring wine on the altar to be burned alongside certain types of sacrifices. These drink offerings symbolized the dedication of a person’s life to God’s service in joyful recognition of His holiness and provision. They also foreshadowed Jesus’s eventual sacrifice on the cross, where He became the ultimate drink offering by spilling His blood in obedience to God to rescue us from sin for the purpose of God’s ultimate glory (Matthew 26:28; John 17:4).
in essence, drink offerings are love gifts. They tell God, “You are worth the waste of something precious.”
So is He?
Are we willing to give our best in obedience to God even if no one ever notices or appreciates the sacrifice? Are we willing to “waste” our lives on the altar of His glory like Jesus did?
If we’re honest with ourselves, that’s a tough question. Like I said before, we want to be. We want to do. We want to be used. But we also want our lives to count—whatever that means. After all, we only get one!
If that’s you, consider this: Anything offered in obedience to God for the purpose of His glory serves that glory and becomes part of something much bigger and of far more value than its own original worth. It definitely counts.
But trulyEven if it didn’t and even if no one ever felt the tickle of breath that is your life go by but God, isn’t the chance to whisper love in His ear on your way worth the waste?