If God wanted perfection, He’d do it Himself,
So, the gift that He loaned you, take it down off the shelf.
Use it in love with the greatest of care,
He loaned it to you, for you to share.
Give Him your best; give Him your all,
Though it might be imperfect, meager and small.
He judges the heart of every man,
He does not force, does not demand.
He loans to us to see how we’ll use,
To keep or share, how we will choose.
The poor widow woman gave a tiny sum,
But when she did, she had exactly none.
Christ said her gift was the best
Cause she put in more than the rest.
They gave part which wasn’t bad,
But she gave all, all she had.
By the size of the gift God’s not impressed,
But by the love we give is how we’re blessed.
What goes out, comes around,
To give our lives our souls are found.
In the steps of Christ we walk,
Our lives should be much more than talk.
God gave His Son, for us He bled,
Held nothing back till He was dead.
Do you give in the same way?
Is Christ the center of every day?
Do you give your very best?
Would you pass the widow’s test?
By giving all not just part,
Your earthly wealth, your soul, your heart.
Don’t withhold and don’t keep back,
Because its worth seems to lack.
For God really wants our hearts and will,
When we give this, He starts to fill
Our lives with joy and inner peace,
The gift He gives will never cease.
Thank you, Jesus, I give you all,
In faith I hear your Loving call.
Tertius
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,
go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
Matthew 19:21
A note about “The Tarnished Pennies”: As a mason I strive for perfection, and although my work never ends up perfect it usually ends up being a good job. However, my guitar playing is fifth rate at best. I’ve been doing both for over thirty years, but one I practice eight hours a day, the other not so much. Not to mention the twenty-year hiatus when my hand was wrapped around a bottleneck and not a guitar neck. Sometimes I wonder if this is a gift God has given me or if this is wishful thinking on my part. But I do know that God has given me some wonderful music and it wouldn’t have happened without the guitar as a “foundation” to build on. Like our relationship with Him, His gift to us (whatever it might be) plus our labor involved brings about something of great beauty. He could certainly do it by Himself, but He chooses to let us share in the joy. We never give Him enough, until we give Him everything, warts and all!