"We Are An Offering"

“We Are An Offering”

We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to you: we are an offering.

Lord, use our voices, Lord, use our hands, Lord use our lives, they are yours:

we are an offering.

All that we have, all that we are, all that we hope to be, we give to you, we give to you.

We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to you:

we are an offering, we are an offering.

We can do nothing more than be an offering to God. Whether we’re bound for conference next month or bound to stay at home, we are called to lift our voices, use our hands and offer our lives. And to humbly request-Lord, use our voices, Lord use our hands and use our lives. They are yours. We are an offering.

Often we sing this song at church. Sometimes I’m compelled to raise open hands in obedience and supplication. The words never fail to hammer my heart. They are the best hook I’ve read.

I have been intentional about writing in an inspirational way, but have had uncertainty if the Christian publishing arena is where I should be. At one low ebb, when trying to find a Christian publisher, I consciously (defiantly?) delayed including the ‘God part’ in my submission. In a quiet way, the well-respected agent asked, “Where’s the faith element?” That gentle, or maybe not-so-gentle jerk is now my constant reminder of where I’ve chosen allegiance in writing.

Lord, use my personal voice, the words my hands write and my writing life. They are yours. I am an offering.

Jude Urbanski