“We Give Thee But Thine Own,” ELW 686 and LBW 410
1 We give thee but thine own,
Whate'er the gift may be;
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from thee.
2 May we thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as thou blessest us,
To thee our first-fruits give.
3 Hearts still are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend those lost in loneliness,
Is angels' work below.
5 The captive to release,
The lost to God to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace –
It is a Christlike thing.
6 And we believe thy word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate'er we do for thine, O Lord,
We do it unto thee.
Devotion
Even the title of this hymn says “stewardship season.” It reminds me that everything I have comes from God’s generous hand. But whether I’m singing this hymn during a stewardship campaign or at any other time, the third verse reaches out and grabs me: “Hearts still are bruised and dead, And homes are bare and cold, And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled Are straying from the fold.”
As we approach Sunday and prepare to hear the gospel once again, this hymn points to the world around us. Those dead hearts and bare homes are in deep need of hearing the good news that God gives generously, forgives freely and loves extravagantly. Those straying lambs need us to invite them back into the fold, where they can hear the good news that Jesus died and rose again so that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Prayer
Good Shepherd, we thank you for all of your gifts. Give us generous hearts and open hands to pass on the blessings we have received from you. Make us into faithful stewards and fruitful disciples. Amen.