God Loves the Fat

As a child, I was taught to give God my best. We wore our “Sunday clothes” to church, made sure our hair was clean and shiny, and polished our shoes on Saturday night so they would sparkle on Sunday. All six of us children were given money for Sunday School, at least until we started helping Daddy with a job, then we took tithe off our meager earnings. We were taught to honor God with our best.

The hymn “Give of Your Best to the Master” by Mrs. Charles Barnard sums up my understanding that God wants and deserves my best. The third verse begins with “Give of your best to the Master, naught else is worthy His love. He gave Himself for your ransom, . . ..”

Jesus gave His all for me. He is certainly worthy of my best in return. Furthermore, God commanded that sacrificial animals be spotless. Without blemish. The best.

As a child, I learned to only give my best to my Lord.

And then I learned the rest of the story.

While reading the laws about sacrifices, have you noticed that God never asked for T-bones or filet mignons? He didn’t even ask for hamburger. Instead, he asked for the fat.

In Leviticus 4, when instructing the priest about how to atone for their sin (v. 3), God told His priests to take a young bull without blemish, and “he shall take from it all the fat of the bull as a sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and the fat which is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove . . .; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering” (Lev. 4:8-10).

The fat! Why fat? And why entrails, kidneys, and liver? Furthermore, why would He specifically want the fat around them?

After all, the entrails (intestines) handle our wastes, making them the least desirable organ. A primary duty for both the liver and kidneys is to filter wastes and toxins from the body.

The intestines, liver, and kidneys don’t fit my general definition as desirable, much less the “best” part of the body. But God also asked for the fat that’s around them. Unlike the kidneys and liver, fat doesn’t filter toxins—but it does store them so they don’t roam freely throughout the body, creating disaster.

As I type, a line from a hymn keeps playing in my mind, “Give of your best to the Master.” The best? The fat, entrails, kidneys, and liver of the sacrificial animal? The toxins? Is that our best?

There seems to be a disconnect, until you realize the Old Testament gives a foreshadowing of the New. When we surrender to Jesus, giving our lives to Him, we bring our toxins, the things that make us sick and that separate us from Him. In other words, our sin. When we offer our toxins to Jesus, He cleanses and makes us new.

God not only receives such offerings in place of the choice cuts of meat, but He calls them “an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord” (Lev. 3:5, 16). A sweet aroma? Our toxins are sweet to Him, because sin separates. We cannot enjoy close fellowship with Him when we are hoarding toxins.

If we hang onto our toxins as we give God our best (and think highly of ourselves for doing so!), we’re rejecting His salvation and sweet fellowship.

If we want a victorious life of joy, peace, and grace, we need to be open with God about our transgressions and shortcomings. He is waiting for our fat.

If God loves our fat, does that mean He doesn’t want our best? What about the Sunday clothes and shiny shoes? Does our outward presentation matter to Him? What about our serving?

The closing lines of “Give of Your Best to the Master” give answer to that question. They say, “Give Him your heart’s adoration. Give Him the best that you have.”

Our best is our heart. If we adore Him, if He has our heart, we won’t withhold anything from Him. We’ll offer up our sins and weaknesses gladly out of our love for the Lord.

One way of expressing love is to look your best for the one you love, and that choice can grow out of love. The motivation can be to glorify the Lord. In that case, I feel sure He is pleased.

However, He is most concerned about the heart. A more sure sign of our love for the Lord is obedience. Our best effort at giving our “best”–whether that be Sunday clothes or singing in the choir–is of naught if it is not accompanied by obedience.

However, as we look at God’s love for fat, the greatest indicator of our love for Him might be our willingness to offer up to Him all of our fat. It could involve being totally transparent concerning our sins and shortcomings, keeping nothing from Him. After all, only then can we truly enjoy fellowship with Him.

I believe that’s why God loves the fat, and that it is a sweet-smelling aroma to Him. When we surrender our fat to Him, we can draw near to His heart, with nothing interfering. Then our other efforts at giving our best will also be acceptable to Him.

What Are You Looking Out For?

I believe the Lord consistently uses the book of Philippians to speak to me more than any other. He whispers little reminders to correct me and nudge me back into His will.

For instance, if I’m down or discouraged about something, the thought will come to mind, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.” (Phil. 4:4). If I choose to rejoice at God’s goodness and faithfulness, my spirits rise even if the situation doesn’t change.

If I’m worried or afraid, I’m reminded to not be anxious, but to pray and call out to God with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6). Recently, I’ve become aware of the importance that the prayers be “with thanksgiving.” Adding thankfulness to the prayer time seems to be the secret to helping my heart rest in God and rather than being afraid. Giving thanks helps raise awareness of the Lord’s strength and power to handle any situation. He is always bigger than the problem.

When difficulties arise in relationships, questions of “What can I do?” are answered by Philippians 2:1-2. I’m to be like-minded, show love, and be of one accord if there is any fellowship, consolation, love, affection, or mercy. If those things are completely lacking, then I need to work on me. I need to get right with God so I can get along with the other person.

I’m too often reminded to look out for the interests of others and esteem them as more important than me, humbling myself as Jesus did when He died on the cross for me (Phil. 2:3-8). The Old Man in me keeps looking out for me.

There are other verses that the Lord regularly uses in my life, but in a recent study of Philippians, another verse stood out to me because I don’t remember ever seeing it before. Paul wrote the church in Philippi while he was in jail in Rome.

He told them he’d like to send Timothy to them, then he added, “I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 2:20-21).

What an indictment on the church of God, the body of Christ! “For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Only Timothy would be looking out primarily for their interests.

That is really sad. But is it not true today? Do we have genuine concern for the welfare of others? Do we look out for our own interests, or those of Jesus Christ?

When we’re genuinely concerned, we invest ourselves.

When we look out for our own interests, we neglect the interests of Jesus Christ, not just the needs of our brothers, sisters, and neighbors.

The greatest commandments are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Lu. 10:27). If we love the Lord with our whole being, we delight in working with and for Him.

When we love Him and love our neighbor as ourselves, we have genuine concern for them and thus have no problem being united with other believers or in esteeming others as better than ourselves.

I’m left with the question, “Which are you looking out for, your own interests, or those of Jesus Christ?”

They say if you have two dogs and you feed one and not the other, which one will thrive? Of course, it’s the one you feed, the one you look out for.

The same is true in our lives. Our sinful nature dictates that we look out for ourselves. It comes naturally. It’s work to love, to have genuine concern, and to esteem others highly. We have to choose that path. And it’s not something we think about daily.

Consequently, it’s good to stop and ask, “What am I looking out for? My own interests, or those of Jesus Christ?”

It’s Not About Me

“It’s not about me. My purpose is bigger than my circumstances,” said Karen Fergusen, from Pennsylvania, who is caring for a parent with dementia.

Karen’s response to my blog “Is God’s Love Enough?” jump started my thoughts about purpose.

First of all, each of us has purpose. None of us are here by accident. God knew us before we were formed in the womb. (Jer 1:5)

He had a purpose in mind as He molded each of us for this time and season. That’s pretty amazing that God determined He needed someone just like me—and you.

However, it leads to the question, “What does He need me (you) for?”

Some things come to mind quickly. I’m made to:

Love God with my whole being and my neighbor as myself.
Glorify God by living a life that reflects Him to those around me.
Enjoy fellowship with Jesus in my daily walk.
Share the Good News with those who don’t know Him.
Serve, encourage, and build up the body of Christ.
Care for widows and orphans and share with the poor.

The list goes on, but it is not unique to me. It applies to anyone who follow Jesus Christ. But the question remains, what is my purpose that is uniquely mine?

The first thing that came to mind was that my idiosyncrasies and weaknesses seem to be tailor made to wear the rough edges off of Robert. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17).

That doesn’t feel very distinguished and grand–or even complimentary, but maturing the children of God is important. Unintentionally, I’m fulfilling a purpose, and Robert is doing the same in me. If we embrace the process as the hand of God, it is a reciprocal arrangement that accomplishes God’s purposes in any close relationship. I trust that as a wife, I’ve also been a support and encouragement in his life.

For many years, caring for and training children was my primary purpose. Any parent knows that many days seem thankless, with little reward. They’re filled with wiping noses, cleaning, car pooling, and disciplining. It’s easy to become weary and discouraged, forgetting that God commissioned parents to teach their children to love and serve Him.

Parenting is not about me. It has eternal rewards and is much bigger than the circumstances of the day.

Our specific duties change. We don’t discipline and wipe noses forever. Specific focuses of purpose change along with the changes in our seasons of life. Often seemingly random activities have purpose to prepare us for the next season of life so we can fulfill a particular purpose then.

Furthermore, our purpose in life is not limited to one area of responsibility. For instance, while parenting may consume most of our energy and be a primary responsibility and purpose while children are home, our influence and impact (purpose) extends beyond the walls of our home and the sphere of our family.

Whatever phase of life we are in and whatever duties God calls us to, our primary purpose is to love God and enjoy fellowship with Him. In fulfilling that purpose, we love our neighbors and encourage those around us, sharing about the love and life of Jesus that is within us.

It is not about me—or about my circumstances. My purpose is about the kingdom of God, serving the King, and building His kingdom—in myself and on earth.

We’re part of something much bigger than ourselves or the circumstances at hand. In God’s kingdom, we have unlimited resources to draw on and assurance that because we are not alone, circumstances will work out . The King is with us. He will help us in whenever we call on Him.

Lord, help me remember that it’s not about me. My purpose is bigger than my circumstances.

Robert & Kay Camenisch encouraging and equipping relationships