How much of our life do we give?? Mark 12:41-44 The story of Jesus and the widows offering is a wonderful story of giving our all instead of what we can. Many of us look at this story as simply a money story, but if we look deeper into it, we can see its so much more than that. As Jesus watched the people come and go from the Temple, He watched what people were putting into the collection box. He wasnt doing it to judge people, He was looking at their hearts and getting a picture of their motivations. The way He commends the widow makes me question my own patterns of living and giving. When Jesus commends her for giving “out of her poverty,” it convicts me deeply. It shows me how little I really understand the love of Jesus. That I would underestimate how much He really cares and provides for me. I underestimate it because life has taught me: To risk only from a place of safety. To love only from a place of security. To defend only from a place of certainty. To explore only from a place of stability. To dream only from a place of realism. To give only from a place of plenty. This is not what a follower of Jesus is called to do! Jesus calls us to live with the freedom of souls set free. In spite of our tough situations and brokenness, he asks us to live generously. We must love because He first loved us. We must give because He emptied the treasury of heaven for us. We must risk because our safety is found in Christ alone. We MUST forgive because He forgave us. We must defend the defenseless because He cares for them. We must look past the surface issues and outward sin because Jesus examination of peoples hearts is beyond our ability. We must reconcile because He alone is judge. We must live “out of our poverty” because its there we can understand the depth of our worth in Him. Its not a sacrifice to give from a full account. But when Jesus looks at each of us, He sees beyond our actions to assess our motivation and sacrifice. Jesus, knows the pain of our sacrifice and the depth from where our gifts are given. When we give when we have nothing, we tap into the limitless love of Jesus. We all need to live from a place of confidence in Jesus, not from the “safety” of self reliance. I hope you all have a blessed day and really think about how much we really give to others. -Pastor Jason https://youtube/watch?v=6Ftx51BSNWQ
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 16:54:51 +0000