“Take My Life, That I May Be” ELW 685 and LBW 406
1 Take my life, that I may be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of they love;
take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use
ev’ry pow’r as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Devotion
This hymn invites us to return to the words with which this week began, a lesson from Deuteronomy. There we heard the call to “choose life” by loving the Lord God and holding fast to God’s promises for our lives.
One of the great insights of God’s covenant promise is that choosing life ultimately means surrendering totally to God’s love and mercy. In these familiar verses, beginning with “life” and ending with “myself,” we are invited to surrender totally to the love of God. To sing these words from the heart is indeed an act of choosing life, of returning to the very foundation of our lives. And in so doing we also discover the great mystery of God’s grace – that in total surrender, we find ourselves given back, empowered and enabled to be God’s hands and feet for our neighbors and the world.
Prayer
Life-giving God, your faithfulness and mercy is beyond my imagination. In love you have taken hold of me – heart, mind and all of my being. Empower me and use me that I may be an instrument of your love. Amen.