The giving of our whole selves.

Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all:  'If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Why do we find it difficult to give our whole selves to God?  Now let us be honest here.  Have you given your whole self to God?  Not just an arm or leg or maybe a foot, I mean every part of your body, mind and spirit.  Or have you tried to keep hold on to some things from the time before you asked Jesus in to your life?

It can be hard for us humans to let things go, but we must if we want to have a pure walk with God.  I admit that I find it hard, my
heart and mind is not always pure.  I say and do things that must
hurt my Lord and Saviour.  Yes, I do go before him and admit my
failures, and he forgives me, but I should not have said or done these wrong things in the first place.

When we asked Jesus in to our lives, and asked him to forgive us for all the wrong things in which we have said and done, we should also be prepared to give our whole selves to him, and I mean every
living part.  Also remember that when he disciplines us for doing
something wrong we should accept this gracefully and not rebel
against it, after all he is doing this because he loves us and wants to show us the true path to take.  I thank my Lord that he is patiently guiding me, and he knows that I desire to give my whole self to him.  As I've said so many times he understands us, and knows we will trip up now and again; but that is no excuse for us to continue in our wrong doing.  We must strive really hard to live the life that God wants us to live, and trust him to guide us.

C.S. Lewis says in- '' Beyond Personality''-   Christ says, ' Give me all.  I don't want so much of your money and so much of your work- I want you.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.  No half measures are any good.  I don't want to cut off a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down.  I don't want to drill a tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out.
Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think
innocent, as well as the ones you think wicked- the whole outfit.  I will give you a new self instead.  In fact I will give you myself, my
own will shall become your.'

Colossians3:3
'' For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.''

Give your whole self to God, not just part.