God’s way of salvation is not according to our thought, and His desire in His salvation is beyond our natural comprehension. In His salvation God desires to give Himself to us. Even though we may have heard this before, it still needs an explanation. The Lord’s giving of Himself to us involves more than dying on the cross so that we might receive salvation. Actually, when He gives Himself to us, it is Himself that He gives to us; that is, He comes into us to be our person. When we receive the Lord, we not only receive His salvation through His vicarious death on the cross and many other blessings. We also receive the Lord Himself; that is, we receive the Lord as a person.
This is not a simple matter even though it can be presented with simple utterances. In His salvation God wants to give Himself to us. However, God also wants us to give ourselves to Him. God has given Himself to us, and now we need to give ourselves to Him. The extent to which Christ is our person in our experience depends on the extent to which we give ourselves to Him. Christ has given Himself to us, but have we given ourselves to Him? I believe that many brothers and sisters have given themselves to the Lord but not in a full way. This can be compared to writing a check but not allowing the check-holder to cash the full amount. For example, even though we have given the Lord a “check” in the amount of $2,800,000, we have only allowed Him to cash ten percent of the amount, defaulting on the remaining ninety percent. After being touched by the speaking in a conference, we may say, “Lord, forgive me. I wrote a check but would not allow You to cash it. Lord, I give myself to You again.” At such a time we may write a “check” for an even larger amount, but we again ask the Lord to cash only ten percent of it. Since we wrote a larger “check,” the Lord gains some ground in us, but we repeat this process again and again.
We should be willing to settle our account with the Lord in a full way. I hope that all the young brothers and sisters will settle their accounts before the Lord and before all the churches. If we have received the Lord, the Lord has given Himself to us. Now we need to give ourselves to the Lord. We even need to ask ourselves whether our “check” to the Lord is in the proper amount. When a person writes a check, he is legally responsible to pay it. If we have written a “check” related to our consecration, sooner or later the Lord will require payment. If we do not pay today, we will pay one day. No one can take back his consecration to the Lord.
According to the Old Testament, once a sacrifice was placed on the altar, it could not be taken back. Leviticus 27:9-10 says, “If it is for an animal which may be presented to Jehovah as an offering, anything which may be given to Jehovah shall be holy. He may not exchange it or substitute it, either a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one; but if he does indeed substitute animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall be holy.” Once an animal was offered, it could not be exchanged or substituted, indicating that once a sacrifice was offered, it belonged to God forever. Furthermore, the position of the original offering could not be changed as the result of an exchange or substitution. Once an offering was made on the altar to God, it could not be returned to the original owner. In fact, when there was an exchange, both the original sacrifice and the substitute became holy. This means that both the original and the substitute belonged to God.
If a person has not consecrated himself on the altar, it is possible for him to be in “default” to the Lord, but once he places himself on the altar, he cannot return to his former status. This is a serious word: Once a “check” has been written, that is, once a person consecrates himself to the Lord, a deal has been made, and a legal right has been given to the Lord. Even if a consecrated person tries to delay the payment of his “check,” the Lord will find a way to receive payment. Sooner or later the Lord will work out a payment for the “check.” Hence, it is better to pay fully and quickly. If a person does not fulfill his promise, he will suffer much. The more readily we “pay,” the better it will be. The more we delay, the more suffering we will experience.
May the Lord have mercy on us. In God’s salvation He has given Himself to us; however, if we are to enjoy Him, we have to give ourselves to Him. This is our problem: the Lord has given Himself to us, but we have not given ourselves to Him. Since we have our own desires, we hold back a part of ourselves from the Lord. However, the extent to which we hold back something from the Lord is the extent to which we lose the Lord. The amount of our enjoyment of the Lord does not depend on Him because He has already given Himself to us; it depends on how much we are willing to give ourselves to Him. The more we give to the Lord, the more we will enjoy Him; the less we give to the Lord, the less we will enjoy Him.
In Christianity consecration is often understood as presenting ourselves to God in order to do something for Him. Actually, consecration does not involve our doing anything for God; consecration means that we give ourselves to the Lord. The Lord has given Himself to us, and we should give ourselves to Him. This is consecration.