What shall I render to Jesus because He has done so much for me?
You should render to Him “your whole being…spirit, soul and body.” This is expressed beautifully in the last stanza of the well-known hymn “When We Survey the Wondrous Cross.” It says: “Were the whole realm of nature ours, That were an offering far too small; Love that transcends our highest powers, Demands OUR SOUL, OUR LIFE, OUR ALL.” The Apostle Paul said as much in the following verses:
“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” 2nd Corinthians 5:14-15.
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1st Corinthians 6:20.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” Galatians 2:20
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” Romans 12:1.
These verses have a common theme; because Christ was willing to “give His life for us on the cross” we should be willing to “give our life in service to Him.” Again, this would include every PART OF OUR LIFE. Our BODY should be yielded to Him so He can use each member for His honor and glory. Paul speaks of this in Romans 6:12, “Let no sin therefore reign in your MORTAL BODY, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield YOUR MEMBERS as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD YOURSELVES unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and YOUR MEMBERS as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Our SPIRIT and SOUL should also be yielded to Him. The “spirit” is the part of us that gives us the ability to know God, to communicate with God through prayer, and to meditate upon His precious Word. The “soul” is the “seat of our emotions” and thus our heart’s affections should be focused on the Lord Jesus. Colossians 3:1-2 speak to this: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set YOUR AFFECTIONS on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Paul prayed that our WHOLE BEING would be set apart to God in 1st Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace SANCTIFY YOU WHOLLY; and I pray God YOUR WHOLE SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This, dear friend, is what God wants from you (and me!) and what you can render to Him! One may be thinking, “But what about giving Him our time, our talents, our money, and our spiritual gifts. Shouldn’t these also be rendered unto Him?” Yes, they should! But I believe if you render to Him your WHOLE BEING (spirit, soul and body), those things will naturally be used for Him. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the churches of Macedonia being willing to give money for the poor saints in Jerusalem, even though they too were experiencing “deep poverty” (see 1st Corinthians 8:1-4). But notice what he went on to say in verse 5: “And this they did, not as we hoped, but FIRST GAVE THEIR OWN SELVES TO THE LORD.” This, dear fellow-believer, is the greatest thing we can “render to the Lord!! If we do, everything else will fall into place. (453.3) (DO)