The Omagh Church of Christ

 

 

    Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."

    We are all familiar with this story. It reveals to us the attitude God is looking for in our giving back to Him. This widow was not just poor, but based on the place of women in ancient Jewish society (and even more so for widows) it is quite possible that this was all the money this woman had left. The amount she put in was equivalent to 1/64 of a day's wage back then. She may have been able to buy a piece of bread with that, but instead, she gave all she had in service to God, knowing that it meant she would probably have to fast the rest of that day. And if indeed this was the last of her savings, she would now have to rely on the mercy & grace of God to provide for her so that she did not literally starve to death. What an attitude of giving!  It is no wonder that Jesus was so moved by this and made a point of highlighting this to his apostles.  Amongst all the rich people who were giving of their surplus most likely for the recognition, this poor woman outshines them all. Why? Because of her attitude.

    The question for you and I is: Do we have that kind of attitude when we give? Are we giving from our surplus just to be recognized or are we giving the best we can because of our deep love for and devotion to our heavenly Father.

    There is however another part to this story that we may have overlooked. Before this event took place, Jesus had chastised the religious leaders of the day for their self-righteous and greedy attitudes. He even picked on their treatment of widows - which was despicable. And yet despite the way widows were treated in that society, this widow, with full faith and reliance in God, gave all she had. She didn't hold back; she didn't give only half of what she had. There is no evidence that she concluded that because of the way these religious leaders were conducting themselves that she wouldn't give. She did not hold back from giving to the work of God's temple just because of the way she may have felt about the actions and/or decisions of the religious leaders of the day. Her giving was done out of an appreciation for all that God had done for her, and she was not going to allow the actions or decisions of those around her to lessen her appreciation in anyway.

    Do we share that attitude, or is it possible that we allow problems within the congregation and actions or decisions of others to dictate how we will give to the Lord's Church? After all, who are we really giving to - man or God? But here is a more sobering question:  If you are not willing to give your best to God, why should he give his best for you?

 

    "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him." (Ephesians 3.8-12).

    We sometimes think of grace as a "theological" word that has virtually no application or usage outside the realm of the religious. However, this certainly was not the case when the various epistles of the New Testament were penned. In today's text when Paul speaks of "this grace" being given, he is not speaking of grace as we most frequently use the word; rather, in this text grace merely means a favor or gift. Hence, Paul was referring to his calling as a minister as a grace or favor given of God. In a very real sense all good gifts could be said to have come down from Almighty God. In fact, that was James' affirmation at James 1.17. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Rain is a grace, sunshine is a grace, air to breathe is a grace. However, this less than lofty usage of the word tends to cheapen its tremendous meaning in the New Testament.

    In an effort to preserve the lofty usage of the word "grace," we return to its usage in the quoted text. The grace given on this occasion was a gift to Paul, specifically he was given the privilege of preaching the gospel. To further this appreciation, the privilege of preaching was afforded to Paul in all places, at all times, and to all peoples. Shortly after the Lord appeared to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus, He had to convince Ananias to seek out Saul so he could reveal the terms of the gospel to him. Ananias objected because of Saul's reputation as an aggressive persecutor of Christians. God convinced Ananias to go Saul saying, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel." (Acts 9.15). Hence the grace given to Saul/Paul was an unequaled favor; anyone could have been chosen - say for instance Peter - but Paul was selected by God Himself to be His spokesperson, His ambassador if you will, to the Gentiles.

    From Paul's perspective, one can certainly understand why he would perceive his responsibility of preaching the gospel as an unexcelled blessing. He was in prison, he was shipwrecked, he was beaten, and all this for the sake of the gospel. Yet, all in all, he was thankful that he had been chosen, and this he knew, was in spite of himself. Paul's acknowledgement as to the greatness of the privilege of preaching is a realistic view of this grace. Isaiah recognized this fact earlier when he wrote, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion; Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52.7). Proclaiming the gospel is an unexcelled grace!