She gave all that she had

 Read Luke 21

If you read Luke 21 and Matthew 24, you get the short course of the End of the Age—Revelation revealed in miniature.

Advent means arrival, but in the church, it is a time to prepare for the arrival of the King, the Second Coming of Christ. That’s going to be something of a big deal.

At the next service, I will talk a little about signs of the end of the age. Now, let’s think about what preceded the eschatological verses in this chapter.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

We all know this one. We sometimes dub it The Widow’s Mite.

Jesus called the disciples to consider this woman. They probably were not paying much attention to her. She wasn’t making a scene, and she would not bring a load of gold or silver.

She did not make a show of making her offering. She did not parade herself in self-righteousness. She gave what she had.

Jesus noted that she gave more than all the rest. She gave all she had.

We—anchored in our own understanding—ask, “How will she live?”

Jesus saw no need to address that unspoken concern. He knew that his Father in heaven provided for her.

She had no earthly treasure but surely had a huge account in heaven.  Could you imagine giving all that you had in the offering?

That’s some crazy stuff, but it is precisely what we are called to do.

OK, sure. Are we passing the collection plate again? I have to run home and get my car title.

Does the church pick up the payments on my mortgage? How does this work?

It’s a scam, right?

No, we are to give all we have and all we are to the Lord. Paul called it a living sacrifice.

But is that even possible? I know that Paul said it, but he didn’t have a mortgage, two car payments, a houseful of hungry kids to feed, and a water bill to pay.

I’m already making my tithe. Give me a break! How can I give all that I have? Do I just endorse my check over to the church?

For those who don’t know, a check is a piece of paper that promises to pay an amount written on it to the recipient. I know people don’t use checks much these days. Ask an older person about a thing called a counter-check. That will blow your mind in this age of account hacking. 

Enough for ancient banking practices… Who will pay my mortgage? You will, and you will pour yourself into making your house into a godly home.

Who will make my car payment? You will, and you will do your best to drive safely and respectfully. When the light is red, you live by the law not grace.

As we are on the topic, is it legal to make a right on red in Oklahoma?  Only when posted.

The rest of the time it is legal to make a right on red after stop, unless otherwise posted.

That’s my public service announcement for the day brought to you by my daily view of out my office window.

Back to giving it all to God—what about my food bill? How many have a monthly grocery bill that’s more than your car payment? More than your mortgage?

Hopefully, that grocery bill will get better. Right now, when I go to buy my olive oil and peppers, I feel like I am in chapter 6 of Revelation.

Back to giving it all to God. Whatever I eat, I eat to fuel this body that serves the Lord. I’m not a glutton and a slave to food. I eat to re-arm and re-fuel to continue my mission and fulfill my commission.

We can give God all that we have. It funnels through our lives and provisions us to serve the Lord.

Think of the servants in the Parable of the Talents. The money their master entrusted to them was put to work immediately and produced a return, but they didn’t have to get a second job to feed their families.

They put everything they had—knowledge, skills, and abilities—into producing a return for the master. They had no desire to do anything else, and their master provided for them in the course of their duties.

That was true of the first two servants. They understood this living sacrifice thing before it was a thing.

They were not accumulating personal wealth. They were producing a return for their master. Welcome to New Testament living.

How does all of this relate to Advent and the coming of Christ?

We don’t know the day or the hour, but we do know the season. For that part, read to the end of Luke 21.

The best way to prepare for the Lord's return is to live our lives fully for him every day.

We are saved from sin and death, but I believe that in our DNA as new creations is the desire to do the best we can with the lives, resources, thoughts and attitudes, and fruit we produce for the Lord.

We should strive to live as fully as possible, with each breath bringing glory to God.

That’s how we give all that we have. That’s how we prepare for the return of the King.

Amen.