"GIVE A LITTLE MORE"

Gospel Reading: John 3:16-21

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.”

God gave his Son to us, and his Son Jesus Christ gave himself to us - completely, absolutely, unconditionally, without reserva-tions of any kind. We are to do the same with them. We are to give ourselves totally to God our Father and Jesus our Brother, without holding anything back. That’s a big order. So big, the thought of it can overwhelm us, it can discourage us from trying.

Let us remember: Salvation did not happen in an instant. God prepared the world for thousands, maybe even millions or billions of years for salvation. It took time. And our holiness takes time too; we must not expect it to happen instantly, overnight, not even in a matter of weeks. It will take a lifetime for us to give ourselves totally to God, maybe even beyond our lifetime. But we are expected to give a little more of ourselves each day.

You know how it is when you purchase a car or a house. You probably don’t pay the full price immediately, you pay in what is called “installments” — so much each month. For a car it may take you four or five years to pay the total price, for your house thirty years. God gave us his Son and Jesus gave us himself totally for our salvation. But it took a lot of time and a lot of work. The gift of ourselves to God takes time and work too. A little a day is all he asks. You made your downpayment when you chose to give yourself to Christ and rejected Satan. Now keep up the installments. Give a little more of yourself every day.