Give yourself wholly to a Holy God, and watch what He can do!
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 NKJV).
Agnes was born in 1910 in a small Eastern European village. Her father died when she was only 8 years old. Even with very little income and few worldly possessions, her mother was well-known for going out of her way to help others in need. Agnes heard her mother say many times, “Never sit down and fill your plate if your neighbor’s plate is empty.” Then her mother would remind her of the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40,
“...Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
At 16 years of age, Agnes committed to live her life wholly for the service of God and others. Never marrying, she devoted her life to becoming a nurse and caring for others. She set out on a life journey that would lead her to the streets of Calcutta, India. During the 1940s and 50’s, diseases were taking the lives of many people throughout the City of Calcutta. The fate of many would be to tragically lie on the streets and die, hopeless and alone.
While serving in an orphanage and a hospital, Agnes saw the desperation and pain in the eyes of those who were all around. Their hopelessness pierced her heart, and like Christ, she was moved with compassion. She spent many days and nights on the streets of that city holding the hands of dying men and women as they took their last breath, so they would not have to die alone. She would later say, “Sometimes when I’m looking into the face of a hurting man, woman, or child, I can’t help but feel as though I am staring into the eyes of Jesus Himself.
She never forgot the example set by her mother, or the lesson taught by Jesus, “Whatever you do for the least of these…you are doing for me.”
We are never more like Jesus than when we love the ones who have nothing to offer us in return. The world knows Agnes as Mother Theresa, who, when she died in 1997, had no claim to fame or fortune, except a testimony of love and compassion…for the least of these.
She reached the unreachable because she was willing to touch the untouchable. It all started when she chose, at the age of 16, to present her body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, knowing that it was her reasonable service.
Today, reflect on your life; what would it look like if you were to give yourself wholly to a Holy God?
Dear Lord, take what little I possess, even my all, and use it for your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.