“One Sunday in church, a little girl sitting alone watched as the offering plate was being passed around. The little girl knew she had to give something to God. She searched inside her small coin purse but found it empty except a few candy wrappers. She knew she had to give something but yet, she had nothing.
She rose from her seat and dashed to the back of the church. The little girl tugged the shirt of the deacon, who was carrying the offering plate. “May I hold the plate?” she asked.
The man handed the plate, filled with money and envelopes, to the little child and watched with curiosity.
The little girl placed the plate on the ground, stepped inside and said, “Jesus, I don’t have anything else to give You so I give You me.”
I came across this story, and it made my world stop, literally. I’m in the midst of meeting deadlines and patching up things that I didn’t get to finish last week, but reading this story just made me stop scouring. This story helped me remember that even though I am a born-again Christian, I really can’t help but to feel insufficient sometimes.
Like the girl in the story, I just feel that I don’t have anything to offer. I cannot see something precious in me no matter how hard I try. Yes, I want to do big things for God but I feel like I am beyond unqualified. Given that I grew up as the youngest of the family, I have never been entrusted with much. I was always a happy-go-lucky selfish brat who feared responsibilities.
I have to be honest that I questioned God more than once, “What did You see in me, why did You choose me?” Then I realized that this is such a self-centered question.
Time goes by and God made me go through the process of humbling myself, and it wasn’t easy I tell you, but it was rewarding. During the process, I realized that it wasn’t about me.
It’s not about my weakness.
It’s not about my strengths.
It’s not about what I have.
It’s not about what I don’t have.
It’s not about what I can give.
It’s not about what I can gain.
It’s not about me.
In Matthew 15, we find that the disciples are struggling with the same exact problem of not having enough. At this point, Jesus found His way to a mountainside. He was surrounded by 5000 people, not including women and children, and they are all hungry. The disciples started questioning Jesus on how could they feed such a big crowd. But what was Jesus response? He asked, “How many loaves do you have?”
Now I want you to pause for a minute and ponder— What do you have right now? If you’re still breathing, then I tell you that it is enough.
God doesn’t look on what you lack, but on what you have and how He can multiply that and turn it into a miracle that could feed thousands. It’s not about how you can do something, but it’s about Him who’ll be glorified in doing something in and through you. It’s not about how insufficient you are, but it’s about how sufficient His grace is. It’s not about how weak you are, but it’s about how strong He is.
It’s not about you, because it’s about Him. You may not have anything to offer but to God, your whole life is everything to Him that He even died for you.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.” (Romans 12:1)
This article is written by Le-Jovale Vallejo.