February 19, 2009

First Fruits

For a while lately I have been struck by God's command in Genesis to give of our first fruits. Abel gave of the best of his harvest and God calls us to do the same. I have always thought that this meant monetarily and as I don't earn the money for our family I didn't know how this applied to me personally.

Until recently...

I have been making more of an effort to have personal prayer/mediation time with God everyday. I may be busy as a mom and as a wife, however, I don't think the excuse of "I didn't have enough time for you, God" is going to sit well during my Judgement Day. I may not be able to pray as long and as exactly as I did when I was single, but with my new prayer companion, The Better Part, I can pray just as well.

In order to be successful at this I need to schedule it into my day, just as I schedule in my workouts and my house duties. I used to pray during the last part of Avila's morning nap - that is until I was reminded that I must give of my first fruits.

As a stay at home mom my fruits, what I "earn," is time. Time to myself is such a huge reward. But it is also what I must give of first to the Lord. Instead of taking the last part of Avila's nap (or none at all if her nap is cut short), I am convicted to give the first part of it. Christ must come before the dusting or the dishes or any of my personal endeavors. Even if it means I have less time to myself. Plus, what I have belongs to God anyway - especially my time. It is His and I must freely give what He has freely given me. This applies to every area of life.

Christ also promises that we will not go unrewarded for our gifts to Him. For the measure we give is the measure we will be repaid. As a result, I will attempt to discern and give of my first fruits.

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