First Fruits

James 1:18 tells us that God has saved us by His word, so that we might be “the first fruits among His creatures.”  Until recently, I had never  fully understood the meaning of the phrase “first fruits,” nor had I grasped the profound significance of this passage.  Then one of Thomas Manton’s sermons on the Epistle of James opened my eyes!  The first and best part of every harvest in the Old Testament was dedicated to God.  In this way the people of God acknowledged that all that they had was a blessing from the Lord.  Our lives are to be dedicated as “first fruits” to God now, knowing that we will soon enjoy the full harvest of salvation in heaven.  Paul expressed the same thought in Romans 12:1.  In view of the many precious mercies God has poured out upon us in salvation, we should give ourselves totally to Him.  We should not walk in our own ways, but in the will of God.  We should reject whatever hinders us in fulfilling our chief goal—giving glory to God.  Manton wrote: “All pleasures, honors, profits, are to be refused or received as they make us serviceable to the glory of God.”