The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Mark:12:41-44

kjv@Mark:12:41 @ And Jesus satover against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

kjv@Mark:12:42 @ And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

kjv@Mark:12:43 @ And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

kjv@Mark:12:44 @ For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Today's notes:

Context:

Before - How say the scribes?
After - When shall these things be?

Key Concepts:

What is God's righteousness observed doing?:

Watching over the money tribute chest to see what people are offering to the temple treasury.
Making a point to identify the poor widows sacrifice to his disciples.

What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:

Let's forget the fact that it is money for a moment. Let's put it as how much of one's life one is willing to offer their God. A person would say that they "love the Lord with all their heart/soul/mind/strength". How much of their money would they be willing to love the Lord God with? Some would say "but God doesn't need money". What if it was nothing more than a practical measurement for Him to prove to us how much heart/soul/mind/strength is left remaining to give? Does everyone have to give to last farthing? I cannot say. Everyone does need to know that no matter how much they think that they love God there is so much further they could go. No matter how much we might think that we are giving God there is someone giving that much more.
In the future as they form into a church and take on more and more believers, it will be important for the disciples to look at the amount freely offered in terms of personal cost and not in terms of dollar amount. God can do much with very little when it is offered from the right heart. If the deacons today looked at the treasury with the same eye on individual cost they would be much more respectful of the tremendous love in their charge.

How is man reacting?:

Notes:

Perhaps we should ask what it is that has brought this poor but devout widow women to her last two mites. Does it have anything to do with the previous conversation about how widows are being treated by those with "abundance" in the religious circles? Where is the care for the widow that has long been commanded? Is it being overlooked or worse being consumed or worse maliciously stolen? We are not told, but we must assume something is being pointed out to the disciples concerning to Jesus; perhaps all of this.

Could it be said that God in HIS righteousness brought her to this "even all her living"? If it were to show her the sufficiency of HIS grace would it be righteous? If it were to get her past the debilitating grief over her husband? If it were to get her passed the reliance upon a falsified religious system that was not going to be any help to her? If it was to connect her to this moment with Jesus? If it were to connect the future church to this moment of Jesus with her? If it were to connect the falsified religious system to it's guilt? If it were to show generations distant just how far a widow's love for God could go? Is there any situation where God would be right in either allowing or causing this to happen to her? What about allowing or causing another's abundance to stand in their way?

What happened to the woman after her offering we do not know. We are not told. What do you suppose? The disciples coming back in the next weeks to take care of her; there's a good story. A rich man marrying her and taking care of her every need; that would be nice. Maybe she hitches her way to Jericho to care for a terminally sick sister suffering the drunken abuse of her brother-in-law; would that be wrong? Maybe she unselfishly ministers to a pack of other homeless misfits and orphans in the back streets and dumps with her story of meeting Jesus Christ a day or so before His crucifixion to a mixed response, many were saved by her story though she had died long before knowing it. Would any of this be horribly wrong of God? Maybe it is better that we don't know what happened to her other than to trust that her God was always right there by her side, and she by His.

The same could be asked of those callous hearts superficially giving to a stone cold religion thinking that they themselves were upright and whole. What became of them? What would be right of God in their case? What about those in the middle ground that were doing mostly right, but to a lesser extent, whom God had made more abundant?

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

How much of our religion is what we want it to be and how much what God needs it to be? Our opinion of ourselves in it appears to be quite high. Is it too high for us not to see the purer religion happening down below us? The religion of those we would judge to in desperate need? Those probably closer by lack than us in abundance?
Real life decisions are being made by people everyday, decisions that we might think are crazy to be made until a better situation arises. One might even blame a woman such as this for putting herself (and her deceased husband's accounts) in this very situation by similar poor decisions; however religious. How is it that eye opening poverty is blamed, but blinding abundance is not?
Is it ever God's mistake that we are where we are? Even as devoted followers? We suspect that there is a lesson to be learned (and there is in all things), but what if that outcome doesn't come up to the dreamy expectations placed upon it by our vain imaginations? Does that mean that God is not right? Does that mean that we are mistaken for having followed along with it? Does that mean that our faith got it all wrong? Or does that mean that our expectations of what outcome is right is not always as right as God will have it to be?

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Mark:12:41-44
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Mark:12:41-44 rwp@Mark:12:41-44 mhcc@Mark:12:41-44
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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