A new year has begun. Traditionally, the beginning of a new year is a time of rededication, a time when New Year’s resolutions are made, a time when we vow to try to do better than we did last year.
At the beginning of each week we gather together to remember our Lord and to rededicate ourselves to His service. However, the beginning of a new year seems to call for more than this. It seems to call for an all-out effort of rededication.
One of our hymns seems to express the spirit of the kind of rededication that is called for at the beginning of a new year. It is Hymn 111.
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee:
Take my moments and my days let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King:
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold: not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.
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.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee
Let’s take a closer look at these words. “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” What does it mean to consecrate our lives to our Lord ? The definition of the word consecrate is “to make or declare sacred; to set apart or dedicate to the service of God.” Therefore, when we sing these words we are saying, “Lord, take my life, make it sacred; I want to dedicate my life to you.”
How many of us are living lives of real dedication to the service of God ? At our baptism, we decided that we were going to serve God, but that may have been a long time ago. How do we feel now? Do we still want to serve God with all our ability, or has our enthusiasm been quelled by failure, disappointment, or some other reason? If so, then it’s time we rededicate ourselves.
“Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.” Prayer, the divinely appointed way of approaching our heavenly Father, is a form of praise because by praying we are saying to God that we are weak and He is strong. We are told by the apostle Paul to pray without ceasing. We usually pray when we need something, however we should also pray to give thanks for the many blessings God has already given us. The singing of hymns is another way of praising God. Harper’s Bible Dictionary says that praise is “to glorify or extol God especially in song: also the act of glorifying and extolling God.” The Psalms are filled with songs of praise to the Lord, and Paul tells us to sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. Why is it then when it comes to singing our praise in our meeting, some don’t bother to sing, and others use the hymn as an opportunity to find a seat or to take care of some other business ?
Another way to praise God is simply with our thoughts. The man who is constantly thinking of God and comparing the things of God with the things around him in his everyday life is in a sense praising Him. While most of us can’t spend all day praying and singing to God, we can think of Him more often. Paul, in Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
“Take my hands and let them move, at the impulse of thy love.” How can we serve God with our hands? We can use our hands to put money in the collection, to pass out literature, or to turn the pages of our Bible. Figuratively we can use them by “lending a helping hand” to someone in need, or to mold the future of our children and bring them into the Truth. We can use them folded in prayer, and we can use them to climb the ladder which leads to the kingdom.
“Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.” Yes, we can serve God with our feet, too. We can use our feet literally to drive our cars to Bible class, Sunday School, Meeting, and Lecture, and also to walk from door to door during Bible campaigns. Figuratively we can use them to walk the straight and narrow path, to run the race, to walk away from sin and temptation, to stand up for what we believe in, to walk in the way of righteousness to run to the aid of a friend, to stand in the light of God’s truth, and to follow Christ, who is a lamp unto our feet.
We can also serve God by not using our feet. David says in the Psalms, “I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.” (Ps. 119:101) In Proverbs referring to sinners it says, “Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.” (Prov. 1:16) One of the seven abominations which the Lord hates is “feet that be swift in running to mischief,” (Prov. 6:18) Solomon also admonishes us to “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” (Prov. 4:26-27).
“Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King.” How often do we sing to our Lord ? We sing in our Sunday School, at Meeting, and at the evening lecture, but is this enough? Do we really sing “always” and “only” to our King? All of us are inclined to sing even if for some of us it is only to ourselves; shouldn’t we sing something uplifting rather than a meaningless song we’ve heard on the radio? Why don’t we have hymn-sings more often at social gatherings? Paul advises “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:19).
“Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.” How often do we have an opportunity to pass along a message from God? How often do we take advantage of that opportunity? We study our Bibles, and we have a knowledge of God’s word that most of the world obviously lacks. How often, do we share that knowledge with others?
“Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.” Yes, we can serve God by simply giving a portion of our income to His work. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7) All things come from God, and when we give our silver and our gold, we are only returning that which is His.
“Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose.” How can we use our intellect to serve God? We use it when we learn about Him, try to know Him, and try to understand His purpose. Using our intellect in this way is not only necessary to serve God, it is absolutely essential for salvation. We cannot hope to be in God’s kingdom unless we know who He is and what it is that He wants us to do.
“Take my will and make it Thine: it shall be no longer mine.” What is our will—to serve God or to serve ourselves? Are we really willing to do what God wants us to? We can’t serve God unless we really want to. Have the things we’ve learned from his word been enough to change us from thinking of our will to thinking of His will? When we sing these words we are saying to God that we don’t want to do what our human nature wants us to do, but we want to do what God wants us to do. Do we really mean these words as we sing them?
“Ta’-e my heart, it is Thine own: it shall be Thy royal throne.” The word heart is often used in the Bible to describe the center of our emotions, feelings and character. As we sing this hymn, we are inviting God to come into our heart and use it as his royal throne. What would God find in our heart? Would he find love, kindness, humility, generosity, patience, courtesy, unselfishness, sincerity, and the rest of the fruit of the spirit? Or would He find hate, pride, jealousy, anger, cruelty, self-righteousness or selfishness? “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7) What kinds of thoughts come from our hearts? “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matt. 12:38) We must strive to have a good treasure in our heart so that we may become pure in heart, for “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8).
“Take my love: my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.” The first commandment of Christ is to ” . . . love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” God has given us good reason to love Him: He is the creator and sustainer of us all; He is the supplier of our food, our homes, and our clothing; and He gave us His Son to open the way to life eternal.
“Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.” In this last line, we have a summary of all that has been sung. Take my life, my moments, my days, my hands, my feet, my voice, my lips, my silver, my gold, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love — everything. All these things that God has given to us in the first place, we promise to return to Him in service. Our lives are no longer to be ours, but God’s. Our moments and our days are to be spent in His service. Our hands and feet are to move quickly to do His will. Our voices are to be lifted in song to His praise. Our lips are to utter words of truth. Our silver and our gold are to be put into His service. Our intellect is to be used to understand His purpose. Our will is to be that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our heart is to reflect our dedication to Him by displaying the fruit of the spirit. Our love for Him should be reflected in our love for our fellow man.
We promise to do all these things when we sing this one hymn. Do we mean the words when we sing them? If we do, can we live up to such a high goal? Probably not, but each Sunday morning we gather around a table to remember one who did live up to all these ideals. He gave himself completely to God and in doing so set an example for all to follow. We can never hope to equal His service to God, but we are all required to try. God knows what we are able to do and we should try to do all that we are capable of doing. We have a choice to make. We can choose to serve sin or we can choose to serve God. If we choose to serve sin we shall die. If we choose to serve God, someday we may hear the words of the Master: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matt. 25:21).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One