Give Ourselves Up
We are called to give ourselves up to God's will, trusting in His love and care, and to offer our sufferings to Him for our growth in generosity of spirit.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the importance of taking on the mind of Christ, embracing toil, hindrance, and suffering with His virtue, and recognizing the short time we have to labor for His sake. She emphasizes the need to love, be silent, suffer, and sacrifice our inclinations to fulfill God's will by aligning ourselves with others, finding happiness in bearing the cross laid on us by God. Tileston encourages surrendering to God's daily discipline, trusting Him like a loving mother who carries us in His arms, and offering all, including disappointments, to God to grow in generosity of spirit.
Text
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.
--1 PETER 4:1
TAKE thy whole portion with thy Master's mind--
Toil, hindrance, hardness, with His virtue take--
And think how short a time thy heart may find
To labor or to suffer for His sake.
--ANNA L. WARING
YOUR portion is to love, to be silent, to suffer, to sacrifice your inclinations, in order to fulfil the will of God, by moulding yourself to that of others. Happy indeed you are thus to bear a cross laid on you by God's own hands, in the order of His Providence. The discipline which we choose for ourselves does not de.stroy our self-love like that which God assigns us Him.self each day. All we have to do is to give ourselves up to God day by day, without looking further. He car.ries us in His arms as a loving mother carries her child. In every need let us look with love and trust to our Heavenly Father.
--FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON
The loving heart which seeks to offer all, even dis.appointments and vexations which touch the tender.est places, to God, will be more likely to grow in generosity of spirit than one who bears grudgingly what cannot be averted.
--H. L. SIDNEY LEAR
Sermon Outline
- The Call to Suffer for Christ
- The Nature of Our Portion in Suffering
- Giving Ourselves Up to God
- To Love, to Be Silent, to Suffer, and to Sacrifice
- The Discipline of God's Providence
- Daily Surrender to God's Will
- Trust in God's Love and Care
- Looking to God in Every Need
Key Quotes
“Toil, hindrance, hardness, with His virtue take--” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“He carries us in His arms as a loving mother carries her child.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“The loving heart which seeks to offer all, even disappointments and vexations which touch the tenderest places, to God, will be more likely to grow in generosity of spirit than one who bears grudgingly what cannot be averted.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We should strive to have the same mind as Christ, being willing to suffer and toil for His sake.
- Daily surrender to God's will is essential for our growth in generosity of spirit.
- We should trust in God's love and care, especially in times of need.