Devotional - April 05, 2022

Written By Ocoos Web Consulting

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Luke 21: 1-4

21 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

There are a couple things to note in today's text, money and commitment. Apparently, Jesus and His disciples are at the Temple in the area where the people gave their offerings. The rich enjoyed this event, it was a time for them to show off and let people see their extravagance, much like they do today in the media. Most of their offerings came from their leftovers rather than their primary funds. Being that they were labeled as rich by Luke, they are a part of a small elite group who shared in the leadership of Israel. Then, there comes a lady who Jesus identifies as a poor widow. She makes her way in and gives two lepta. These were small coins, usually bronze or copper, and they were the smallest demarcation of money during that time. They barely would cover a day's pay. It is all she had, but she willingly gives it as an offering. The first issue that comes to mind is the lady's status. She is a widow and poor at that. It was the responsibility of the Temple, the Israelites, to take care of her (Exodus 22:22-24, Deuteronomy 14: 28-29, 26:12), not the other way around. Unlike the rich, she has no influence or say concerning Israel. In Luke, Jesus' criticism of the social structure, especially the treatment of the poor by the rich and religious, is evident throughout the book.

Now, let us take another step and view money as a metaphor for commitment to God. Categorically, it is not, but in this situation let's make the connection. The rich, when they are not busy doing other things, give what's left to God. Whereas, the poor widow gives all her time to God. In the book of Luke, Anna (Luke 2: 33-38) is identified as someone who lives this way. So, the question is, which of the two, the poor widow or the rich, actually support the Temple? Monetarily, one would have to say the rich, since the Temple can hardly be supported by one who only gives a couple lepta. Yet, one has to ponder that a bit. Yes, the money from the rich is used to attend to the maintenance of the Temple and pay the bills, but that is true of any business. Is the Temple a business? In one sense yes, but it is much more. If a terrible storm destroyed it, what would be left? My answer would be the Temple. Maybe not the physical structure, but the spiritual structure, the part the poor widow and Anna maintain would still be intact and going strong. In our scenario, the widow does not have to give (make an offering) to the Temple. She does so because she wants to, she wants to support the place where God resides. She is dedicated to God and has a sincere desire to support the things of God. She delights in what she gives, which is much more than two lepta. We can be sure she gives of her time and offers prayers regularly to her God. Jesus sees that and points it out to the disciples who were probably more taken by the display made by the rich as they flaunted their wealth. What they gave to God, Jesus points out, was leftovers and that was how it was received by God. The widow gave her life. Notice, Jesus says she gave more than, ...not just one of them (the rich), but all of them.

You may think my next question is, what does Jesus think of our contribution? No, that would put you in the position of trying to quantify your relationship with God. How can we do that with any kind of accuracy? The thing that Jesus points out today is that our relationship with God is priceless to God. It was worth the sacrifice God made for us and God made that sacrifice from the bottom of God's heart (Isaiah 9:7). I know, at times, we wonder about our relationship with God and even God's relationship with us. At times, it may not seem that profound. Truth be told, at times it may not seem like much at all. There are several reasons why this occurs. One being, we have never really sat and pondered what our relationship with God entails? Is it a relationship or something we do on Sunday? Have we spent much time getting to know God by way of prayer and reading the Bible? I mean quality time, not leftovers. When our relationship with God matures, God trusts us not to stray when we do not feel God's presence every moment. We know who we are in Christ. We know who God is and no longer need the evidence to substantiate our relationship. God does not have to prove that God is present in our life because we trust God is there. It is a good place to be, but occasionally it can leave us wanting to go back to an earlier stage in our relationship. When that occurs, let the poor widow in today's Scripture encourage you. She is living and enjoying her relationship with God everyday, come what may, and Jesus values that experience more than all the other offerings given by the rich. So too, it is with us.

Pray with me..., Gracious God, help us to accept Your grace and love. So often we look for evidence to believe in, help us to believe, enlighten our souls. Give us the faith to accept the mystery of Your presence in our life. Be with our family and loved ones, bless them according to their needs. Bless our church, so we can be the blessing You want us to be in our community, in Jesus name, Amen.

God's peace,

Pastor Brian

Ocoos Web Consulting https://www.ocooswebconsulting.com
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Devotional - March 30, 2022