We pick out a text here and there to make it serve our turn; whereas , if we take it all together, and considered what went before and what followed after, we should find it meant no such thing.
John SeldenRead
All things are God's already; we can give him no right, by consecrating any, that he had not before, only we set it apart to his service - just as a gardener brings his master a basket of apricots, and presents them; his lord thanks him, and perhaps gives him something for his pains, and yet the apricots were as much his lord's before as now.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We acknowledge that everything belongs to a higher power, and by dedicating it to that power, we simply recognize its rightful ownership.
This quote reflects the philosophical perspective that all things ultimately belong to God, and when we dedicate something to Him, we are not actually granting Him ownership, but rather recognizing the inherent relationship of everything to the divine. The analogy of a gardener bringing apricots to his master illustrates the act of offering as a recognition of gratitude and stewardship, emphasizing that ownership is not transferred but acknowledged.
Themes
GodOwnershipConsecrationGratitudeStewardship
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon discussing the importance of stewardship in faith communities.
More from John Selden
All quotes βOf all the actions of a man's life, his marriage does least concern other people, yet of all the actions of our lives, 'tis the most meddled with by other people.
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Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because 'tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to refute him.
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Pleasures are all alike simply considered in themselves: he that hunts, or he that governs the commonwealth, they both please themselves alike, only we commend that, whereby we ourselves receive some benefit.
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