Would you give Him your leftovers ? Mal 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. :43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: :44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living Why should the condition of a sacrifice matter to God?? The imperfect sacrifices of the priests and people demonstrated the content of their hearts. The people were not sincere. To sacrifice a perfect, healthy animal looked to them like a waste, and they considered the work of preparing their gifts properly to be a foolish use of time and energy. The people were not giving “sacrifices”; they were merely doing what was convenient, just enough to appear to obey God. Then they would turn around and pat themselves on the back for being righteous. But though Gods people had broken their covenant with Him, God remained true to His promises (Is. 53). He did not shrink from sending His only Son to a cruel death on the Cross. Jesus was the true, unblemished sacrifice to which the OT sacrifices pointed (Heb 7:26-28). He was perfect—free from all sin. And through Jesus sacrificial death the Lord provided salvation for all of our sins. In doing this, the Lord demonstrated His sincere love for us because He sacrificed the very best to save us (John 3:16). What did Jesus mean when He said that the widow had put more money into the treasury than anyone else (Mark 12:43)? Jesus called the widow in Luke 21:1-4 “poor.” The word He used referred to a person so destitute that she was literally in danger of death. It is hard to reckon what the two mites that she threw into the treasury would be worth in todays currency. But even in her day they were not much. Clearly, He was indicating that economic value is relative. The widows contribution would have been nothing but spare change to the rich who preceded her. But to her, two mites represented enormous value. It was “all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:44, emphasis on whole ) Replacing it would be difficult, if not impossible; as a poor widow, she was probably unemployable. Giving it to God meant that she could not use it to buy her next crust of bread. The important thing to note is that the two coins were “all the livelihood that she had” (Luke 21:4). She was truly destitute—the sort of widow who would later be eligible for support from the church (1Ti 5:5). Nevertheless, she gave generously to the temple. Jesus praised her for her faithfulness, even though it meant sacrifice But Jesus indicated that God placed moral rather than economic value on her tiny offering. Her gift showed that she was giving herself entirely to God and trusting in Him to meet her needs. Her use of money disclosed the moral and spiritual condition of her heart. In doing so, the Lord showed that Gods accounting differs from ours. He pays attention Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in endless praise, let them flow in endless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee, swift and beautiful for thee. Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee, filled with messages from thee. Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose, every power as thou shalt choose. Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne, it shall be thy royal throne. Take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee, ever, only, all for thee
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:00:56 +0000