We Give Thee But Thine Own – What Does This Mean?

As we take a look at these stewardship hymns, we will be reminded that we are God’s people, souls created by Him and provided for by Him. We will pay special attention to the Fourth Petition, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

We give Thee but Thine own,
Whatever the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

This stanza recognizes the order of giving. First, God the Father gives to us. He gives to us clothing and shoes, house and home, land, animals and all that we have to support this body and life. He gives these things that we might use them, and especially that we would use all good things for giving glory back to Him.

May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blesses us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!

We recognize right away in this stanza the word “firstfruits.” This phrase is as old as Abel. It is in fact related to farming, to gardening, to working in the ground. When I think of firstfruits, I always remember “Give God my very best.” He gives to us even more than we need or ask, and so we give back to Him the best that we have for Him to use again.

Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.

Here comes suffering. Here comes the struggles of this world. That there are needy people all around us. That there are others who are straying from the fold and need to hear the words of this most precious Gospel. This stanza reminds us about the reason for our giving. It reminds us about how God will use our treasures for His glory. He will heal hearts and warm homes for those who need. He will provide for others what He has provided for us.

To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.

God’s work in the world continues even more! These words focus on the power of the Gospel and the continuation of the ministry. This is quite important for us as Christians, not just that we assist others who have serious physical needs, but that we as the Church provide for others with serious spiritual needs.

The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.

“What would Jesus do?” We often hear this phrase and worry that we are never doing enough for the kingdom. But this stanza reminds us that we are being like Christ when we give to others and support the ministry of the Gospel. We are stewards of God’s gifts, it is true. But here we certainly consider that we are Christ’s examples to the world to be generous to one another as well.

And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whatever for Thine we do,
O Lord, We do it unto Thee.

Here we have the conclusion. That everything we do, we do to the glory of God. That every penny we earn, we earn because of God’s grace and mercy. That every prayer we pray, we focus our prayers on furthering the Gospel. All of this because God has first and foremost given so much to each and every one of us.

Rev. James Peterson
St. John
Curtis, Nebraska