November 6, 2015

Instruction
Scripture: Mark 12:38-44
Mark 12 finds Jesus in conflicts with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. In this reading Jesus denounced the scribes for their desire for recognition and honor while they actually harmed others with their actions. He went on to praise a poor widow who gave her last bit of money and contrasted her with the rich people who gave out of their abundance. The impact this reading has on us is to challenge our motivation for self-glorification and to urge us to live humble generous lives of faith.
Teaching
Sacrificial giving can be an uncomfortable topic of discussion. In this passage we see a powerful example of it as the woman drops her two small copper coins into the offering box. It would be tempting to look at the wealthy people who gave so much and to think of how little value she gave. A penny, what good is that? But Jesus honored her gift above the others. Why? Because of the faith attached to the gift.
God does not usually call us to give 100% of our income to Him. He provides that income to us for the care of our earthly lives. However, part of our worship is giving back to the Lord from what He has provided for us. It is a statement of faith that we trust God to provide when we return to Him from what He has given us. It also says, “God is my God, not money or wealth. He will provide for me.” 
Life
It is difficult to imagine giving away the last bit of money that you have to live on. Perhaps there have been times when money was tight and you looked at that last “twenty” or “five” in your wallet and sensed that giving it away was the right thing to do even as you remembered pay day was a few days away. How did that feel? Did it make you anxious? Did it anger you? Did you give it away?
Sacrificial giving is not easy, but it is beautiful. It is beautiful because it is a response to the free gifts God has given to you. You see, God Himself is a giver. He gave Jesus to redeem us and make us His people. When we give, we are simply imitating our Father. When we give sacrificially we imitate our Brother.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You taught us to shun self-glorification and to embrace humble generous faithful living. You showed the hypocrisy of the scribes who looked religious, but behaved in ways that dishonored Your Father. You taught us to look at our giving from the motivation of faith and to see beyond the measurement of money to the measurement of trust.
Thank You for giving us all that we have. Thank You for privileging us with the opportunity to return to You from what You have given to us. Thank You for teaching us that it is not the size or the grandeur of the gift that impresses You but the faith and love that motivates the giving that You rejoice in.
Forgive us for being impressed with things that look large and impressive while we disregard the humble and the small. Forgive us for giving comfortably from our abundance and for resisting the joy and power of giving sacrificially. Forgive us for not trusting You to truly provide for us in all things.

Grant us faith, Lord, that moves us to live humbly and to give generously. Help us to hold more tightly to Your gifts of life, salvation, and forgiveness, and more loosely to the earthly gifts of wealth and comfort. Teach us to be giving people, even as You are a giving God. Amen.  

Comments