Mark 12:43-44 NLT
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Are we giving everything that we have, or are we holding back?
When Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the others” to His disciples, they probably thought to themselves, “What is He talking about? Did she give the most? She only put in two small copper coins.”
I’m guessing, as they were standing there watching the people put in their offerings, some people gave large amounts, and some gave modest quantities. Some people made a show of it, banging their coins against the treasury so that others would notice how much they were putting in.
And then the widow steps up and puts in “two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.”
The not so funny situation here as well is that this widow should have been receiving help but was instead pitching in
This contribution would have been looked over by everyone watching, but not by the Creator of the universe. He took notice enough to make it part of The Bible.
1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
There is a tendency for us to compare what we are doing compared to what those around us are doing. And this is a dangerous game that we play and will eventually limit our witness’s effectiveness for Jesus Christ.
The only acceptable sacrifice that we can make for God is EVERYTHING.
Romans 12:1 NLT
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
When we receive the gift of grace from God, our calling begins. And we become Christian, first and foremost. It is the most crucial thing in our lives.
Everything that we think, or do, should first be considered in the light of Jesus Christ. If you’ve been around for any period as a Christian, you’ll come to see the acronym, WWJD, which means “What would Jesus Do?”
This question is the one question that I feel we should ask regarding everything that we think, do or say in our homes, at our jobs, in our social circles, quite frankly everywhere that we go.
Sometimes we tend to compartmentalize our Christianity, we act one way on Sunday and around the “church” people, and we act a different way when we get back to the shop on Monday morning.
But for us as Christians, we are Christians first and foremost. We consider everything we do in light of the coming glory of Jesus Christ.
Living like this is giving Jesus everything we have.
Does this mean that we are going to be perfect? NO.
But there is good news here:
1 John 2:1-2 NLT
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
His sacrifice is not to be taken lightly; He was put on that cross because of our sin.
It is dangerous, and we should take it very seriously.
In the Old Testament, King Saul was told by God to avenge the Israelites and was issued these orders:
1 Samuel 15:1-3 NLT
One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the LORD who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
Saul did everything except he spared the life of Agag and some of the choice livestock from the Amalekites. But he was commanded to destroy all of it. To leave nothing alive.
This part of scripture is a picture of our lives; sometimes, we think that it’s ok to hold onto some of the things that we did before becoming a Christian.
But God wants it all to be gone from our lives, and this should be our heart posture before God, that we want it to be gone as well.
And He knew we couldn’t do this on our own, so He sent Jesus Christ to be that sacrifice we could never do on our own.
And in the case of the story of Agag, He sent Samuel to finish the job:
1 Samuel 15:32-33 NLT
Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!” But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
Giving our all doesn’t require perfection on our part; it requires submission to the only perfect person who walked the earth and asking Him to be Lord over our lives.
This submission will create a shift in our lives to give our all, and with the help of the Spirit, we’ll continuously be on the lookout for the sin in our lives that will separate us from the blessings of God.
If you don’t feel that desire and focus in your life, get on your knees before God, and ask Him to create that desire in your life.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving Your all for us.
You sacrificed Your Son because we could never pay the price that is required by Your Holy nature.
Doing this was a show of unconditional love, and I am forever grateful for this love. Please let this be the posture of my heart towards those around me.
In the loving name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
