Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Hidden Treasure


//And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.// 
Mark 12.41-44


I haven't found anything more beautiful than the heart of Jesus. The heart of Jesus is so unlike what Christianity looks like today. His heart is so tender and kind. He is drawn to the outcast and puts no value on worldly pursuits. Through Jesus' example I see the heart of God revealed. God is not greedy. He desires our pure undivided devotion, not our worthless excess.


Jesus is more interested in how we give than how much we give.
Jesus is more interested in how we live our days, then how much we do in our days.
Jesus is more interested in how we love the people in our life then how many people we will love in our life.
Jesus is more interested in how we worship Him than how much we worship Him.
Jesus is more interested in how we impact people than how many people we impact.
Jesus is interested in the motive of our heart rather than our technique. 



God isn't calling us to do what everybody else does. I see His creativity revealed in this story. The widow worshiped Jesus completely different than everybody else around her did, and Jesus declared it beautiful. The widow had two mites, and the beauty is that she gave them both away. She didn’t give one of them to Jesus (which still would have been significant) and kept the other for herself. She gave them both to Him. The gift that we give is valued by the spirit in which it is given. David Guzik said "There is a sense in which Jesus may have looked at the widow and saw Himself. He would soon be offering everything He had in humble sacrifice on the cross. Jesus didn't hold back His "two mites.". We read that this precious widow gave “all that she owned and all that she had to live on” to Him. Through her example, I learn something about how we should come to Jesus. The widow approached Jesus with a gracious heart. She was vulnerable. She was bold. She was humble. She was reckless and she was completely abandoned. The sweet widow in Mark 12 set an example to all believers about what a life of reckless abandonment looks like. God calls each of us to abandon different things for Him, but He finds beauty and blessing in the individuality. 


Today I feel like I don't have anything to offer the Lord but I'm casting away the lies and bringing my treasure to Him. I want to spend my days giving Him my precious treasure and not my worthless excess. Only a God full of loving kindness and grace would find my "two small coins" to be a beautiful act of worship. His grace is so real, and I'm running right into it. Love changes you, and Love will change you. The widow was changed by the love of God, and the widow changed others lives by her love for God. I am encouraged to life a life of reckless abandonment today in every area. I want to bring my everything to Jesus, not just my something. I am encouraged to bring my precious treasure to the Precious One. 











No comments:

Post a Comment