Who gets the big half?
Leviticus 1:3(NIV) "If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord."
Thank you God for not placing me in times where burnt offerings from the herd is necessary. I love every animal from the smallest squirrel to the biggest elephant. I would have a very hard time with this. But, when I read this verse in a devotion this morning, it took me on a whole different spiritual direction. Let me explain...years ago, probably more than ten, twelve years ago we had an older couple that were visiting our Sunday school class (which at the time we were in a marriage class) They were the cutest older couple you could ever imagine. But what has stuck with me for the past twelve or so years is the advice that the husband shared with all of us younger couples. The couple had been married well over 50 years. He shared their entire story which was absolutely beautiful. Some of the facts were that they were married after knowing each other only three days. He called her his beautiful bride (mind you they had been married well over 50 years. They truly adored each other. They looked at each other with eyes of admiration and adoration. But down to they part that has stuck with me more than anything else...the husband advised that we always give our spouse the bigger half. This particular day we had donuts. He split his donut and gave his wife the bigger half. He said this is something he always did, no matter what they were sharing, his beautiful bride always got the bigger, the best half. I do not remember the couple's names, and we never saw them again. But, their testimony and their advice has stuck with me always. This chance meeting was definitely a divine appointment that I am so thankful that I was a part of.
Here, Moses is sharing the law with the Levites. The burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. God didn't want the left overs. He didn't want what the Levites were willing to part with. He wanted the best half, and he still does.
God doesn't just want whatever time we have left over in the day. He doesn't want whatever we have left over in our bank account. He doesn't want our worship to be half hearted. He wants the best of us, every time. Not only does he want our best, dude, he totally deserves our best and more. We are undeserving of the crumbs that are left over. He has blessed me with so very much, so I gather it up selfishly, as if I'm deserving, as if I am entitled.
He also wants us to give our neighbors the better half. He wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It's easy for me to give my husband the best half. But, is it easy to give my neighbor the best half? Yikes, I am ashamed to admit that I would more than likely keep the big half for myself in this situation. I want to change that.
Father, thank you. Thank you first for that divine appointment all of those years ago. Thank you for blessing me with the testimony of that adorable couple. And God, thank you so much for blessing me so abundantly! I am so sorry for being selfish with my blessings. Help me to use Your blessings to bless others, rather than holding on to it with my selfish little hands. Help me to be generous with my love, my finances, my time, my "stuff" and with all of me. Again Father, I surrender everything for your anything.
Love,
Your Surrendered Daughter
Thank you God for not placing me in times where burnt offerings from the herd is necessary. I love every animal from the smallest squirrel to the biggest elephant. I would have a very hard time with this. But, when I read this verse in a devotion this morning, it took me on a whole different spiritual direction. Let me explain...years ago, probably more than ten, twelve years ago we had an older couple that were visiting our Sunday school class (which at the time we were in a marriage class) They were the cutest older couple you could ever imagine. But what has stuck with me for the past twelve or so years is the advice that the husband shared with all of us younger couples. The couple had been married well over 50 years. He shared their entire story which was absolutely beautiful. Some of the facts were that they were married after knowing each other only three days. He called her his beautiful bride (mind you they had been married well over 50 years. They truly adored each other. They looked at each other with eyes of admiration and adoration. But down to they part that has stuck with me more than anything else...the husband advised that we always give our spouse the bigger half. This particular day we had donuts. He split his donut and gave his wife the bigger half. He said this is something he always did, no matter what they were sharing, his beautiful bride always got the bigger, the best half. I do not remember the couple's names, and we never saw them again. But, their testimony and their advice has stuck with me always. This chance meeting was definitely a divine appointment that I am so thankful that I was a part of.
Here, Moses is sharing the law with the Levites. The burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. God didn't want the left overs. He didn't want what the Levites were willing to part with. He wanted the best half, and he still does.
God doesn't just want whatever time we have left over in the day. He doesn't want whatever we have left over in our bank account. He doesn't want our worship to be half hearted. He wants the best of us, every time. Not only does he want our best, dude, he totally deserves our best and more. We are undeserving of the crumbs that are left over. He has blessed me with so very much, so I gather it up selfishly, as if I'm deserving, as if I am entitled.
He also wants us to give our neighbors the better half. He wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It's easy for me to give my husband the best half. But, is it easy to give my neighbor the best half? Yikes, I am ashamed to admit that I would more than likely keep the big half for myself in this situation. I want to change that.
Father, thank you. Thank you first for that divine appointment all of those years ago. Thank you for blessing me with the testimony of that adorable couple. And God, thank you so much for blessing me so abundantly! I am so sorry for being selfish with my blessings. Help me to use Your blessings to bless others, rather than holding on to it with my selfish little hands. Help me to be generous with my love, my finances, my time, my "stuff" and with all of me. Again Father, I surrender everything for your anything.
Love,
Your Surrendered Daughter
Thank you for always giving the bigger half. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for always giving the bigger half. :)
ReplyDeleteI love you! Thank you for always encouraging and loving and pointing me to our Savior!
DeleteThank you for a very timely reminder. I need to give the bigger half.
ReplyDelete:)
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