Are You Giving God the Left Overs?

Deuteronomy 6:5

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

What if someone said that they loved you, but they only made a halfway effort to do anything for you? It seems they were always too tired to come and see you. They were always too busy to talk to you, unless they needed something of yours, of course. The Bible commands us to love God with all our might, or strength. Too many people today only give God their leftover strength. “I will pray, if I have time. I will go to church, if I have time. I'll read my Bible or help out when I get some spare time.” If God was OK with us giving Him spare time would He ask us to love Him with all of our might?

Matthew 19:27-30

Then answered Peter and said to Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed you; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, That you which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred times, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

So many people pray a 10 second prayer, and then think that is all they have to give to God. Is that what God wants out of us? Just a prayer that has no follow through, no commitment on our part? If that is all that God wanted from us, then why would He ask us to take up our cross and follow Him?

What if God returns to you the same as you give? If we give God only our spare time, what should He give us?

Mark 12:41-44

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasure. Many rich people threw

in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

There were a lot of rich people that put in large sums, but Jesus wasn't looking at the amount they gave, He was looking at the amount they had left over. He said this woman gave the most out of anyone because she gave all that she had to live on, she gave everything. God is impressed when we give Him more than just spare time, spare change, or spare prayers.