We Give Thee But Thine Own, ELW 686
Devotion
We give thee but thine own,
whate'er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.
May we thy bounties thus
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our firstfruits give.
The captive to release,
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace—
it is a Christlike thing.
And we believe thy word,
though dim our faith may be:
whate'er we do for thine, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.
The words of verse six of the hymn point to the amazing ability of faith, even when it is not vigorous, to compel us in the spirit of Matthew 25 to commend our time, talents, and treasures to help God’s will be done on earth as in heaven. The words "though dim our faith may be" seem particularly to capture my imagination. This reference to meager illumination recalls that even the smallest bit of light can reveal what needs to be seen. My young son's preference for a night light in his room allows for his darker imaginings to be dashed by clearly seeing the truly good things that surround him. When we see the world through the light of God's bounties we have received, then it is truly our joy to cheerfully give to others in return through our expressions of worship, praise, and trust.
Prayer
God of all provision, make us gratefully aware of how we have been graciously blessed that we might give with cheerful hearts. Amen.