Out of Our Abundance
Scripture
Luke 21:1 He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
Observation
The people were giving their offerings into the treasury and it seems that all were participating. The ways in which they could participate were radically different. The wealthy were not giving sacrificially. They were able to give generously but it came out of their abundance. They could give to the treasury and it didn’t affect their own lives. They didn’t have to give up anything to give. Instead, they took care of their own needs first and they gave out of that which they did not need. This was in stark contrast to the life of the widow. She didn’t have much of anything and yet, she wanted to give. She sacrificially gave that which she could not afford to give. Her two small copper coins were nothing in comparison to the wealth of the others, but it wasn’t the amount of the offering, it was the heart from which it was given. She gave everything that she could and, it meant that she would have to do without things that would be vitally important to her life. Her gift was sacrifice, not abundance.
Application
The kingdom of God has a full treasury when all of God’s people participate out of equal sacrifice. The needs are so very great as people around the world continue to suffer as a result of disasters — natural and man-made. The transformation which occurs as a result of the good news is not just personal, but also cultural. Entire societies can be transformed and reformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. Following the great commission of Jesus means that we go into all the world making disciples. Jesus also anticipated that his disciples would be cared for along the way by those who were willing to give and support the mission.
I’ve been blessed to spend my life in service to the Lord by way of the church. I have been cared for in wonderful ways. Often it has been out of the sacrifice of an individual that I have been able to continue on. I think about the travels into far off corners of the world where, at times, we were the first Christians some people had ever met. The journey has been amazing and I feel blessed to be able to do this, but I want to be a good steward of the sacrifices of others.
I’ll confess that it’s easy to give out of abundance, but I think Jesus was teaching a lesson by pointing out the widow. Giving out of our abundance does not change our behavior and it creates no dependence upon God. The more we have in this world, the less we need God. It is only by sacrificially giving away to others that we learn how God provides. The beauty is that God doesn’t give us what we “want,” but is very cognizant of our needs. Our needs don’t take as much time away from serving God as our wants and in many ways, we are set free.
If we are still giving to God out of our abundance, we may want to ask God to help us begin to live like the widow. Discovering the beauty of dependence upon God begins by reaching far beyond our abundance.
Prayer
Lord, May my life be a living sacrifice for you, and may my dependence upon you grow daily. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment