Give All to God
“For all these have of their abundance cast in
unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury has cast in all the living
that she had.” Luke 21:4 (KJV)
How often do you
worship? Truly worship?
We do the rituals of praying before meals
and praying at bedtime. Some go to
church Sunday morning. It’s what they
have always done. Some go to church
every time the doors are open. It’s good
to go to church, but when we go, are we truly worshipping and giving all to God
in worship and in our daily walks?
In Mark and Luke, we have the story of Jesus and his disciples witnessing the rich men dropping their gifts into the treasury. Afterwards, the poor widow gives just two mites. Jesus brings this to the attention of his followers and tells them, “This widow has given more than all. The rich give from their abundance, but the widow gave all she had.”
I look at these verses as just not talking about tithing, but speaking about our spiritual lives and how we walk with God. In the preceding verses, Jesus is warning about the religious leaders who parade around in fancy robes to look religious. At the same time, they take advantage of the widows and pray long prayers for attention, but their hearts are not right with God. Then, the story goes to these rich men throwing in some change as they pass by the offering plate. They go to church and as usual drop money in the offering. You know, it is the thing to do and people expect it of them. These rich men are not much different than the religious leaders who Jesus just warned the disciples about. They are both missing something. They are missing a true walk with God.
As the widow gave all she had, she truly worshiped, trusted, and had faith in God. She gave all to God. I believe Jesus was not teaching to tithe, but to give all of self to God. Today, some go to church out of habit or because that is what we do. After attending church once a week, they go about living until the next Sunday. The closest thing to spiritual is the once a week worship. However, wait a minute, don’t some of us do the same by going to all church services. We play the spiritual part as teacher and prayer partner, but are we doing it for the accolades and praise? Are we like the scribes of whom Jesus warned? We have nice shoes, clothes, houses, and cars, but do we let Christ abide in us where we reflect Christ in all our living? Do we give all of ourselves to God?
In John 15: 4 Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me.”
In order to truly give all to Christ, we must abide in God and let God abide in us. We must open our hearts and trust God in all things. In other words, when we chose to follow Christ, we give up selfish needs (deny self), take up our cross, and follow Jesus. By fully committing all to God, the Christian may risk persecution or death. (John 16:24) They become totally committed to God and faithfully seek to draw closer to Him. This is when one truly worships.
So, when we let Christ into our hearts, seek to abide in Him, and give all to God, we can worship as the widow. Don’t give God just a small fraction of yourself as the rich men, but give all of yourself to God and truly worship with all your heart and soul every day.
In Mark and Luke, we have the story of Jesus and his disciples witnessing the rich men dropping their gifts into the treasury. Afterwards, the poor widow gives just two mites. Jesus brings this to the attention of his followers and tells them, “This widow has given more than all. The rich give from their abundance, but the widow gave all she had.”
I look at these verses as just not talking about tithing, but speaking about our spiritual lives and how we walk with God. In the preceding verses, Jesus is warning about the religious leaders who parade around in fancy robes to look religious. At the same time, they take advantage of the widows and pray long prayers for attention, but their hearts are not right with God. Then, the story goes to these rich men throwing in some change as they pass by the offering plate. They go to church and as usual drop money in the offering. You know, it is the thing to do and people expect it of them. These rich men are not much different than the religious leaders who Jesus just warned the disciples about. They are both missing something. They are missing a true walk with God.
As the widow gave all she had, she truly worshiped, trusted, and had faith in God. She gave all to God. I believe Jesus was not teaching to tithe, but to give all of self to God. Today, some go to church out of habit or because that is what we do. After attending church once a week, they go about living until the next Sunday. The closest thing to spiritual is the once a week worship. However, wait a minute, don’t some of us do the same by going to all church services. We play the spiritual part as teacher and prayer partner, but are we doing it for the accolades and praise? Are we like the scribes of whom Jesus warned? We have nice shoes, clothes, houses, and cars, but do we let Christ abide in us where we reflect Christ in all our living? Do we give all of ourselves to God?
In John 15: 4 Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me.”
In order to truly give all to Christ, we must abide in God and let God abide in us. We must open our hearts and trust God in all things. In other words, when we chose to follow Christ, we give up selfish needs (deny self), take up our cross, and follow Jesus. By fully committing all to God, the Christian may risk persecution or death. (John 16:24) They become totally committed to God and faithfully seek to draw closer to Him. This is when one truly worships.
So, when we let Christ into our hearts, seek to abide in Him, and give all to God, we can worship as the widow. Don’t give God just a small fraction of yourself as the rich men, but give all of yourself to God and truly worship with all your heart and soul every day.
Comments
Post a Comment