Life of Christ 159
It is Tuesday morning.
Jesus will die tomorrow. Jesus has thus far spent the day engaged in a vigorous
verbal sparring match with the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the
Herodians. Along the way He has proven Himself once again to be a master of the
Scriptures. He has not backed down one single inch. In fact, He has actually
gone on the offensive – against the spirit of the age, against the leadership
of the age – on their home court.
The Widow's Mite, Jan Luyken, 1700 |
Knowing the rabbinical
predilection for rules it should not surprise us that they had a required
minimum for an offering. It was a mite. This was a small coin that represented the
equivalent of 1/366th of an average day's wage. The equivalent in
twenty first century America is 34 cents.
Resting there, Jesus observes a certain poor widow
cast in two mites. Though a tiny amount in the big scheme of things it
represented all her living. All
morning Jesus has been fighting with a generation of vipers. How refreshing it
must have been to Him to find such great faith and love to God still present
somewhere amongst His people on that awful day!
Elijah Receiving Bread From the Widow of Zarephath, Giovanni Lanfranco, 1624 |
We honor God when give Him, without reserve,
everything we have. The widow of Zaraphath is a tremendous example of this. (I
Kings 17.10-13) Elijah was directed to go to her and instructed that she would
provide for his physical needs. However when he arrived she was preparing a
couple of sticks to build a fire in order to cook one last meal for herself and
her son. In spite of this dire situation Elijah rudely demands that she feed
him first – and she does. And the Lord greatly honors her faith.
In both of these stories concerning two different widows
we see great faith in God and a great love for God. And we see that God honors
those who honor Him.
This is about money, certainly, for where your treasure is there will your heart
be also. And He is after our heart. But it is about so much more than
money. It is about giving Him, without reservation, everything we have and are.
What are you holding back?
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