WILL THE REAL OWNER PLEASE STAND UP

       Imagine that you have a savings account, at the bank, and it contains...say...$20,000. You enter the bank and attempt to withdraw your money and close your account. How do they respond? Do they argue with you and try to convince you that they need the money and that they have done a good job with it thus far, or try to convince you that it really belongs to them? What they do is that they get your money, for you, and are very friendly and helpful in the process. They understand that you allowed them to use your assets, that they benefited from the use of them and if they show appreciation, you may continue to bank with them, in the future.
       Why is it then that we balk at the idea that, although everything we have was given us by the hand of our heavenly father, of God asking to use something that he supplied to us? He gave us our spouse, our kids, our talents and abilities, our job, our health, etc. Although he does not need our permission to take back all that he has left on deposit, with us, it pleases him when we come and lay it all at his feet. We proclaim that we give him our everything, but are these words merely platitudes? Is it akin to saying to someone "I would do anything for you" while actually meaning "If I can do something for you that isn't too inconvenient for me, and doesn't cost me too much, blah, blah, blah...then just ask, and I will try to get around to it when I can"?
       God doesn't want us to bring all that we have and lay it at his feet. Instead, what he desires is that we bring everything we have and lie at his feet, with all that we have. After all, nothing that we have, including ourselves, came from any source, other than him. Why would we not give him what is really his to begin with?