giving yourself away

Jovie, my female rabbit, just gave birth to a litter of six on Sunday evening.  We thought she wasn't due for four more days so when we walked out to feed and saw a nesting box lined with fur we were shocked and super excited!

This is the first time I have ever had rabbits so I didn't know what all happened when they gave birth, but I have learned that it is quite a neat and efficient way God created these little creatures to handle this process.

Right before delivering the babies the mommy rabbit pulls tons, I mean tons, of fur out of her very own belly.

We then gave her soft hay and she took it and made a little nest in her nesting box with that too.

And then, she pulled even more fur out to top that off.

Why?

Because this is how the babies will keep warm.  These little ones that are totally dependent on her for safety and survival.  She knows she has to care for them; and how else will she do it, but by giving herself away for them?!  Pulling out the best of herself to make a soft bed and blanket for them to sleep and gain strength.

In her most painful laboring moment, she is giving herself away.

As I watch her belly contract and hear a bunny plop into that soft nest she made I marvel at how it is when we give the best of our selves, we are given life too!

It may have been hard and she had to be in pain, but after the hurt and after the giving away, there is life and she is rewarded with six babies.

How good it is to give ourselves away--for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of God being glorified!  We give ourselves away everyday around here.  So that children are fed, to teach our little ones the way of the Father, so that those in our community may know God, so that we may know the deep love of the Father, to feed a family that lives 6,000 miles away from us and so we can go and share the good news with them!

We are convinced that it is very life-giving to give our very lives away for the sake of Jesus Christ! 

If you are a Christian and you are wandering why you should give your life away I want to share this with you.

"...because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." ~Romans 5:5

"but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
~Titus 3:4-6

God gave His very best, His only Son, Jesus, for you and for me.  While we were enemies of His, floundering in our sin and loving it, He came down and dwelt with us! He came to save us because He knew there was nothing good in us and that we couldn't save ourselves.  He lavished us with grace and His kindness leads us to repentance.

Through Him giving away His life thru a scandalous and humiliating death on the cross, we can have life to the full!


In 2 Timothy 4:6 Paul talks about his life being poured out like a drink offering.  If we are in Christ our lives ought to be being poured out as a sweet offering to Jesus every moment of everyday in hopes of bringing the hope of new life to those around us.  He is worth our very lives and our time and all our energy.