August 14

God asks for our best

“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God” (Gen. 23:19).
“Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee” (Gen. 22:16-17).

Very often what we would offer to God is not what He calls upon us to relinquish. What He demands of us is often what we most cherish; it is this Isaac of our hearts, this only son, this well-beloved, that He commands us to resign. It is His will that we should yield up all that is most dear, and short of this obedience we have no repose. “Who is he that has resisted the Almighty, and been at peace?” Give up everything to Him, and the God of peace will be with you.
—Fénelon.

Christ wants the best. He in the far off ages
Once claimed the firstlings of the flock, the finest of the wheat,
And still He asks His own, with gentlest pleading,
To lay their brightest hopes, their richest talents at His feet.
He’ll not forget the feeblest service, humblest love,
He only asks that of our store we give to Him
The best we have.

Christ gives the best. He takes the hearts we offer,
And fills them with His glorious beauty, joy and peace;
And in His service as we’re growing stronger
The calls to grand achievements still increase.
The richest gifts on earth or in the Heaven above
Are hid in Christ. In Jesus we receive
The best we have.

And is our best too much? Ah, friends, let us remember
How once our Lord poured forth His soul for us,
And in the prime of His mysterious manhood
Gave up His precious life upon the cross.
The Lord of lords, by Whom the worlds were made,
Through bitter grief and tears gave us
The best He had.

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