Iwill not walk very far with God without facing the matter of claims. I need to understand three such claims: God’s claim on me; my claim on God; and the world’s claim on me.
A claim is a legally incontrovertible right, and the first one I must always take care of is God’s claim on me. He has a right to me because He created me; I am His by manufacture. He also has a right to me because He redeemed me (Isaiah 43:1); I am His by redemption from slavery (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Now it is true that the whole world belongs to God; but to the extent that I am aware that I am His property, to that extent I am responsible for yielding His claim to Him. God will never give me rest on this matter until I do so.
The claim of God is not merely theoretical; it is practical, very much so. Think of it for a moment. If I am wholly God’s and acknowledge it, then He has the right to tap any particular part of me or my possessions at any given moment! Is there a poor person down the street whom God wants to help? He may tap my bank account for the purpose, for my dollars belong to Him. Is there a tribe of naked savages that has not yet heard of Jesus Christ? God may commandeer my body and fly me to the jungle to tell them the good news in their own dialect. After all, my tongue belongs to Him.
The moment I acknowledge God’s claim on me. I am, in a practical sense, a surrendered person with no rights of my own. I am at the disposal of every need, being subject, of course, to the Lord’s direction. Never again will I exist in isolation. The world, as John Wesley said, will indeed become my parish. “He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
“Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).
Daily with the King 