TO GIVE HIM HIS DUE
Opening Prayer
Lord God, all of who I am belongs to you. Thank you for choosing to make me your own. I long to please you and bring you glory.
Read LUKE 20:20–26
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.
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
Of all the things you have to do today, all the people you have to help and serve and please, there is One who, above all, deserves your attention. Give it to him now as you come to his Word.How many images of people have you seen in the past 24 hours? Photos of family and friends, pictures in magazines and newspapers, moving images on the TV… We are so surrounded by representations of people’s faces, we no longer pay much attention. In Jesus’ time, none of those things existed. The only place most people would ever have seen the image of another person was on coins.
Imprinting Caesar’s face on those pieces of metal was a way of marking his ownership. Similarly, God has imprinted his own image on each of us, showing to all of creation that we are his.
Paying taxes to a ruler acknowledges his rule and reign and gives him some recompense for the infrastructure and protection he provides. We humans bear the image of our Ruler (Genesis 1:26), so how should we express our allegiance to him? How can we use our lives to acknowledge his sovereignty and give him some small recompense for his infinite provision and protection?
Apply
Where do you place your loyalties—at work, in your relationships, when you are alone? Are they always with Jesus?
Closing prayer
Father God, you have made me and stamped your image on me. Thank you for the honor of bearing your image in the sight of all creation. Help me to live in ways that honor you and point others toward you.
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