When is it really yours?

“If you love something set it free; if it returns its yours forever, if not it was never meant to be.” -

That is a great sentiment, but I would have starved as a kid if I took the "something" part literally. When I was young I used to earn my spending money by capturing critters of all kinds and selling them. In grade school is was bull frog polliwogs and foot long gold fish for an uncle who owned a fish store and pigeons for another uncle. My family went to visit my grandfather in Los Angles once a month and in the warm months I would try to catch a snake, lizard or Horny toad.. Snakes would bring a buck a foot usually and the lizards were worth some small coins. . In college I attended summer sessions and was on campus 4 days a week an at home(100 miles away) on the desert 3 days. I was taking 16 units in the summer sessions so I didn't have time for a job because I was in class or studying 18 hours a day. My goal and drive then was to finish college in 3 years to marry Deanna. We got married in the middle of my senior year which for me was 2.5 years in. (Technically the school did not allow more than 8 units in summer classes, but I got around that by registering twice. That was in the days before computer checks). On weekends II trapped chipmunks and squirrels and took them to a pet shop across from the school on Monday morning. I made enough to eat on....if you count 1/2 box of 15 cent Mac and cheese cooked in a popcorn popper eating. I could have spent more but I was so in love with Deanna that spending money on food when she was not around seemed such a waste. If I was careful we could go whole hog on the weekends and get a Mac D burger, coke and fires for under a buck each! Translate that to one snake, 4 Chipmunks or two squirrels...or a combination of the three. For city folks this may seem a little unkind, but maybe they all forgave me because I did it all for love. I don't really think so either but it sounds nicer. I did set a lot of stuff free back then. I was constantly catching one type of critter and moving it to another area where that type did not exist. It was really effective too. The offspring of some of those critters are happily living where I put their parents 40 years ago, so I guess it all evens out somewhere. The heart of the proverb above is to set something free, if it returns, it is yours, if not, it never was anyway. That is the street version of what God is looking for. He wants my all for his glory and he makes possible His all for my good. Andrew Murray put it like this
"Whatever God receives back from us comes to Him in Heaven and gives Him infinite joy and happiness, as he sees His object has been attained." God set us free to do as we would. He is in the height of his glory when we return to him offering all we are and have for him to use. In return he fills us with all that He is. Why would we ever resist such an offer?