Give Yourself Away

I get the privilege each week to serve at the Lexington Rescue Mission. Nothing major...but helping in a small way for just an hour each week. And I wonder, what kind of impact we, as followers of Christ, could have on the world, if we each gave a little bit of our time each week to a cause we believe in.

Sometimes God calls us to do something really big, but I believe most of the time, He just wants to use us right where we are in every day, ordinary ways to say, "Hey...God loves you!"

Isn't that in part what we take away from 2 Corinthians 5:20? It says, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." WOW! You wouldn't believe what a WOW moment that was just now for me. Just reading that Scripture brought tears to my eyes.

Can you really grasp that today? We are HIS AMBASSADORS!! Not doing what we want to do, but doing what HE has sent us here to do. The part of the Scripture that stabs me in the heart is "as though GOD were making His appeal through us." Stop right there and really let that sink in. Do you live your life every day as if God Himself were making an appeal through you?

God WANTS YOU! He's interested in people. Each one of us have been gifted and called for a purpose and put here on this earth, at this time, in this place, to make a difference for the kingdom...to represent Him...and that means caring about the things He cares about. He cares about people! How are you going to live that this week?

When I'm at the Rescue Mission, sometimes I help fix trays, sometimes I pass out trays in the dining area, and even sometimes I end up at the sink washing dishes. I cannot tell you the joy I feel by helping someone in need. You know that saying, "it's better to give than to receive," it's not just talking about money. If you've never done it, I think you will be amazed at how blessed you feel when you take the time to give a little of yourself.

I love music so I'll end with lyrics from a song by NewSong, "Give yourself away, Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Give yourself away, Go out and make a world of difference. Let this be the day you see how far His love reaches. The greatest sacrifice of all is to give yourself away."

If you want to join me some time, stop by the Lexington Rescue Mission, 444 Glen Arvin Ave. They serve lunch every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. Just one hour of your time. So how about it? I challenge you this week to give yourself away.

For more information on how to help the Lexington Rescue Mission, visit http://lexingtonrescue.org/index.html