Your best?

 

I was not very good at baseball when I was a kid. I could play the field. I was fast. I could run the bases and cover a lot of ground in the outfield, but I could not hit the ball for a million dollars. I love baseball, but it was qay beyond my physical ability. I loved football too, but I was so small physically, it wasn't a good sport for me either. Basketball -- nope - I am short. There was no place for short guy on the court.  I often wonder how I got to be such a sports fan. I guess it was because I admire those who do something really well that I was terrible at. 

BUT, there is one thing we can ALL do. We can all give our best. We can work hard and we can give maximum effort! The problem? Most people fail to give their best to God, to really put out maximum effort to follow God's will and to be obedient.

As I was reading the LAST BOOK IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, I was struck by the failures of Israel. They failed to recognize God's love for them. They failed to honor their Father in Heaven. They treated God with great disrespect when they gave less than their best as sacrifices on the altar. They cheated God and even the priests left God's path. Israel wondered why God didn't accept their worship and God thought it was pretty obvious:

"You cry out, 'Why doesn't the Lord accept my worship?' I'll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remianed your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows." (Malachi 2:14)

This verse isn't about marriage, it is about not giving God your best. Jesus referenced our relationship as a marriage and we are the unfaithful spouse. We are just like the nation of Israel, we think we are doing great and our relationship with the Lord couldn't be better. But, IS IT? Are you giving all you can to your rleationship with the Lord?

God is faithful, he refused to abandon Israel and he refuses to abandon you too, even though you have given your best.  The end is near. It could be today, tonight, tomorrow, but God's patience is about to run our. Those that are cheating the Lord, not giving their very best, will face the consequences. Now is the time to return to the Lord, repenting for offering a less than healthy sacrifice to the creator of the Universe. Make the commitment now. Recommit your life to Jesus and offer nothing but your best in his service and in loving God's creation. 

Give nothing but your best!

"And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2)