Twenty-Five Cents at a Time

In view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. —Romans 12:1

What does it mean to live a surrendered life in the nitty-gritty of everyday? Years ago a well-known preacher described it this way:

We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table. “Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.” But the reality for most of us is that God sends us to the bank and has us cash the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out twenty-five cents here and fifty cents there.¹

What does it mean to offer twenty-five cents at a time? God may be asking you to sacrifice the next thirty minutes to call a mother-in-law who can be negative, talk with your teenager, or care for a sick child.

Maybe it seems like nothing you do really matters. But usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in those little acts of love. Each sacrifice, no matter the size, is significant in God’s economy.

¹ From a message at a Pastoral Leadership conference, given by Dr. Fred Craddock.