1 TIMOTHY 3:16-17

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us...God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work."

Sunday, June 5, 2011

LUKE - Giving All You've Got

I own a solid gold necklace. It is a beautiful piece of jewelry.

And it's heavy – literally!

The price of gold is currently around $1500 an ounce. So this necklace would definitely be, as they say, *worth its weight in gold!* It’s a treasureand it would be quite a gift if I gave it away, wouldn't it?

Now what if I showed you two pennies – two tarnished, beat-up pennies? They've been sitting in a dish of spare change for who knows how long. They're not worth much. In fact, in today's economy, they're probably not even worth two cents!

Back in the day, they could buy something – a piece of candy or such. But now, the penny is so worthless, we don't even like having them rattling around in our pockets. Many stores have little trays where you can "take a penny, leave a penny." If you don't want your pennies with you, leave them.

So, giving away these two pennies wouldn’t be much of a gift, would it?

Today’s "Bible Pick ‘Ems" is a story about a woman who gave something away…

"While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus said, 'this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.'" (Luke 21:1-4)

Jesus was in the area of the Temple called the Court of Women. In this area were seven boxes in which worshipers could deposit the Temple tax and six boxes for freewill offerings.It appears that Jesus continued watching the giving for some time, and He observed a number of wealthy persons making gifts.

This woman gave a freewill offering of two mites. At the time, a mite was the smallest of copper coins, normally equal to just 1/8 of a cent! Though it might seem that her offering was small, her gift was a sacrifice, for it was all that she had.

Today, I'm not going to talk about financial givingI'd like to expand the story beyond the issue of money.

The question I would like to pose is this – What are you giving to God of YOURSELF?

The issue here is not that the woman had given more as to value and substancebut that she had cast in more in proportion to what she had.

Her gift was counted as more by Christ, and more highly valued and esteemed by Him, because Jesus – the One who sees the heart, and knows all things – knew that she had given FROM HER HEART.

Yes, my friends, the Lord desires no greater gift than the gift of yourself. He is to be loved with all your powers and capabilities. He doesn't want offerings – He wants you to KNOW Him and to LOVE Him.

Mark 12:29 sums up this greatest gift: "The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength."

Jesus uses the poor widow's offering to teach an important lesson.

A gift is not to be evaluated by its size, but by a comparison of the gift with the total possessed by the giver.


In the secret, innermost part of your heart, have you laid your life on the altar? Have you presented everything you have to Him?

May God help us to be like this faithful woman as we give our hearts in His name.


(Linked today with Charlotte and Ginger at Spiritual Sundays, and Peggy at Soaking On SONday. Please feel free to hop on over to my other blog during the week - Sharon Sharing God)


"When in doubt, search God out!"

7 comments:

  1. Good post, Sharon. This goes along with something that has been on my heart lately. I believe giving God all we have goes hand in hand in walking in obedience to His call for us.

    Have a blessed Sunday!

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  2. AMEN and SOAKING in these examples of SACRIFICE since "Fan the Flame"!

    Blessings Sharon... indeed this is the GEM of this BIBLE PICK EM:

    "A gift is not to be evaluated by its size, but by a comparison of the gift with the total possessed by the giver."

    How great is their sacrifice in their GIVING?
    Freely given, completely given and given at a cost to the woman or us with the right attitude... humility *for starters. No greater gift than from our hearts PURE! Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement to lay it all at His feet!

    Peace and love,
    Peggy

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  3. Very good post Sharon. God is interested in our Heart.
    God bless,
    Ken

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  4. Giving of ourselves often costs more than giving our wealth. This has been a challenging post and a reminder that I need to give of myself. Sometimes in the midst of my physical issues I forget there are still things I can do.

    Blessings,
    Pamela

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  5. Sharon, you couldn't have known this while writing it, but God has used this very post today to speak a word of confirmation into my heart about something that's been on my mind.

    This entire idea of "giving out of our poverty"... the best offering of all. I can't go into things now, but God is calling me to a quiet season of reflection, and your post is a breath from God's own lips.

    peace~elaine

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  6. This is so true. God doesn't need our money. What he wants is our hearts. I've always been so impressed with the story of the widow and her mites. I'm glad you shared these insightful thoughts.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

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  7. Joan - I agree. Giving our all has to be the first step of obedience. We can't follow Him if we're holding back. God's been working on this in my own heart, too.

    Peggy - I like how you pointed out that the giving should be done freely and completely - yes indeed! Humility is the only attitude that places us at the feet of Jesus' cross. And when we see what He gave, how can we hold anything back from Him?

    Ken - Thanks so much. Yes, God cares more about our hearts than I think we realize. He doesn't want sacrifices - He wants a heart that yearns for Him, that follows Him, that yields everything to His will.

    Pamela - Dear one, there is always something we can do. Prayer, for example, is a mighty way to pour out our *all* to the Lord. Sometimes I think it's easy to substitute giving money for the greater cost of giving ourselves to Him. Count the cost, He tells us - giving requires dying to self.

    Elaine - Oh, Elaine, I was so touched by your comment. I am very blessed to know that God spoke through me to you. May the Lord be with you in your reflection time, and may you know that He works powerfully through the words you speak - even when you feel like there's nothing there - He speaks.

    Charlotte - Yes, that's it - not money, US! I also love the story of the widow and her unselfish and costly gift. What a testimony to us. She stands as an example of true giving. I can only imagine her joy when she met the Savior and He told her that He saw her offering!

    GOD BLESS!

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"So I have been greatly encouraged in the midst of my troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives me new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. How I thank God for you!"
(1 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

Thanks for your comments - it is such a joy to be sharing my journey with friends like YOU!