What can we give to the Lord that He hasn’t first given to us? Only the love of our hearts!
It isn’t hard to see the theme in these verses: “Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring…an offering to the Lord…Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart…And all the women whose heart stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair.…And He has put in [Bezalel’s] heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan…Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work” (Ex 35:5, 21, 22, 26, 34; 36:2). Heart! That’s the secret ingredient in our service for the Lord. Yes, they needed the materials generously given. Yes, they needed wisdom and skill to do the work. But heart—that makes all the difference. It turns labor into a labor of love. They were wise-hearted and willing-hearted and whole-hearted. When the apostle Paul describes how Christians work today in building a dwelling place for the Lord, he puts a whole chapter right in the middle of it describing the character of love (1 Cor 13). This is what God is longing for. When my children were little, it was not their gift-wrapping skills or artistry on their cards that thrilled me. I was unwrapping love and could see their hearts on those cards, better than any professionally designed, commercially made greeting card. Nonetheless, the following chapters (Ex 36–38) show that the work done followed exactly “the pattern” given to Moses. Love and obedience make a beautiful marriage in our hearts!