Render to Caesar

It's tax season. The one time of year when those of us who live in North Carolina understand why anyone would choose not to. George Whitfield described the Great North State as 'an howling wilderness,' and away from the I40 and I85 conuerbations much of it remains that way. But at tax season we gather our receipts and plug in our numbers and hope for the best.

We pay taxes because Jesus told us to. It's really that simple. Jesus told the Pharisees and the Herodians who tried to catch Him out, render to Caesar what is Caesars. And...

Render to God what is God's. How do we know what is Caesars? It has His image on it. How do we know what belongs to God? It's an open goal isn't it? As image bearers of God, you and me, kind reader, belong to God.

So How do we render to God what is His? Do we nickel and dime our time like we do for the tax man? Do we calculate, plan and budget for our time as we do with our money. Do we say, this much and no more, do we give to Jesus, essentially, what we afford? Again, you know the answer, of course not.

We render to God ourselves. Not our Bible reading, not our self sacrificial giving of time and money, not our faithfulness and participation in a church. Ourselves. Paul reminds us that we are living sacrifices. He reminds us again that we can give up our bodies to be burnt, but it's meaningless unless we have love. You can be burnt to death at a stake, and it mean nothing, if your motive is loveless. Wow!

I guess Jesus is always asking more of us, and less of us, than we think. Jesus isn't saying that we have to sit down and work out what to give Him, He asks us just to give Him everything. Render to God everything that you have. Your dreams? Count them as loss, and give them to God. Your plans? Count them as loss, and give them to God. Your marriage, count it as loss, and render it to God. Your friends? Count them as loss, and render them to God.

And discover that in rendering to God those things they become truly alive. In giving God your marriage, your marriage comes alive in ways you can not imagine. If you give your time to God, your time is redeemed in a way that makes the darkest night feel like the first warmth of a summer's breeze on your face. He who wants to find his life but lose it, must give it up, must render it, to Jesus. But this is a Jesus who came to serve, who came to bring the Kingdom of new life, better life, deeper life.

Life itself.