GIVING HIM OUR ALL
Opening Prayer
Thank you for the miracle that is the Bible. Thank you for the miracle of salvation it offers me in Christ. Thank you, too, for the changes you make in me when I read it.
Read LUKE 20:45–21:4
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘All to Jesus I surrender / All to him I freely give; / I will ever love and trust him, / In his presence daily live.’* Say or sing these words with your hands open to symbolize surrender.Have you ever been with someone who makes controversial statements embarrassingly loudly? I wonder whether Jesus was doing that here. Was he speaking loudly enough for the passing teachers of the law to hear his criticism of their prideful strutting, or for the poor widow to hear his praise? We have no way of knowing, but it seems likely. Jesus wanted to teach his disciples, but also to give the teachers the chance to recognize their sins and repent.
We don’t know what happened to the widow after this incident, but in giving all she had, she demonstrated her faith in God’s provision. The poorest among us often have the greatest awareness of their reliance on God.
The learned teachers, by contrast, were putting their faith in their own abilities, manipulating others in order to fill their coffers and caring about their own security more than God’s work.
Where do you think you sit on the spectrum? Are you more like the poor widow, giving her all to the Lord? Or like the teachers, seeking honor and ensuring you get what you’re owed?
Apply
Most of us are much more like the teachers of the law than the widow. Ask God to show you where you are clinging to position, possessions, or power instead of surrendering it all to him.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, you left your place in heaven, coming to live here and die for me. I ask that you show me where you are calling me to serve you more whole-heartedly.
*’I Surrender All’, Judson W. Van De Venter 1896
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