I gave, I gave my life for thee - What hast thou given for me?

AFM

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I'd like to raise the subject of complete submission unto God. My favorite hymn's first verse goes like this:

I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed;
That thou mightst ransomed be, and quickened from the dead!
I gave, I gave my life for thee; what hast thou given for me?
I gave, I gave my life for thee; what hast thou given for me?

You see, of course, what I mean. I am talking about our reasonable sacrifice. What did Jesus leave behind? The next verse explains that as well.

My father's house of light- my glory circled throne-
I left for earthly night; for wand'rings sad and lone!
I left, I left it all for thee; hast thou left aught for me?
I left, I left it all for thee; hast thou left aught for me?

What did He leave? Everything. Which I believe to be the ultimate standards to which we, as Christians - imitators of Christ - should look to. What is leaving all? Leaving all is leaving all of the world, I believe, and keeping only the things of God. Leaving all is abandoning the pleasures of the world for the suffering of Christ - and for joy in Heaven. Leaving all is martyrdom. Can you picture a martyr - or even Christ - sitting on a couch watching TV? Overeating on 'thanksgiving'? Dressing like a 'punk'? Pursuing the 'American dream'? Playing Video games? Becoming a football star? Becoming a musician?

'I gave, I gave my life for thee - what hast thou given for me?'

(I say not that I am by any means accomplishing this or that I am by any means better than any of you. I would, however, like to point this out, as you can't fight something you don't know exists.)
 

thesunisout

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I'd like to raise the subject of complete submission unto God. My favorite hymn's first verse goes like this:

I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed;
That thou mightst ransomed be, and quickened from the dead!
I gave, I gave my life for thee; what hast thou given for me?
I gave, I gave my life for thee; what hast thou given for me?

You see, of course, what I mean. I am talking about our reasonable sacrifice. What did Jesus leave behind? The next verse explains that as well.

My father's house of light- my glory circled throne-
I left for earthly night; for wand'rings sad and lone!
I left, I left it all for thee; hast thou left aught for me?
I left, I left it all for thee; hast thou left aught for me?

What did He leave? Everything. Which I believe to be the ultimate standards to which we, as Christians - imitators of Christ - should look to. What is leaving all? Leaving all is leaving all of the world, I believe, and keeping only the things of God. Leaving all is abandoning the pleasures of the world for the suffering of Christ - and for joy in Heaven. Leaving all is martyrdom. Can you picture a martyr - or even Christ - sitting on a couch watching TV? Overeating on 'thanksgiving'? Dressing like a 'punk'? Pursuing the 'American dream'? Playing Video games? Becoming a football star? Becoming a musician?

'I gave, I gave my life for thee - what hast thou given for me?'

(I say not that I am by any means accomplishing this or that I am by any means better than any of you. I would, however, like to point this out, as you can't fight something you don't know exists.)

The problem, at least in the western church, is that it has been so infiltrated by the world that no one knows what a real Christian is supposed to look like anymore. Holiness is an 8 letter word in the church, and people won't let God into their wallets let alone their inmost being.

Paul said he counted everything else as rubbish to gain Christ. There is no sense of that in the church at all. We're too busy trying to figure out what we can get away rather than asking how we can be more like Jesus. Only things done for our Lord and Savior have eternal significance; why should we want to hold on to things that are passing away? The Lord made it clear that he who tries to save his life will lose it..but if we lose our lives for His sake we will find it.

If we really understood what we going on we would willingly give up everything to follow Jesus anywhere He told us to go. We wouldn't waste our time with worldly pursuits; we would rather seek to glorify Him with our lives. I pray, as Jonathan Edwards did, for God to stamp eternity on my eyeballs so I can see what is eternally significant and not be fooled by the world and the lusts of it which are passing away.
 
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AFM

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I agree, and very much so! I think the reason why it's the western church in particular is because rather than having to survive the world, it's being giving the opportunity to even enjoy the world!

Indeed, Paul's example ought to be our goal. To be satisfied with nothing, knowing that we have everything.

'For God to stamp eternity on my eyeballs...' Interesting way of putting it. An effective one, too...
 
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i agree it is more the western church, and the way our society is brought up. As a young man I knew the "rules", so i studied the bible. But just like in secular society, I was looking for loopholes. I think a lot of us today are searching for ways to bend the law, without breaking it. One of my favorite verses today is Luke 6:46 "why do you call Me Lord, Lord, yet do not do what I say" so today, I study to be a disciple, and to be more like Jesus. The problem is in many churches because no one knows what it is to be Jesus disciple. in Mathew 28:
 
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