Jesus contrasts the phony goodness of the religious leaders with the true devotion of the poor widow. With this great story He gives three great principles about giving; First about God, second about the attendees and third, about the woman.
First, God is interested in our giving. God has given us so much in time and talents and money ergo he wants to see what we do with all that abundance. When our giving is done right, it is an act of worship. It shows the extent of our generosity and our selflessness. Similarly, God is more interested in our motives and attitudes then God is in the gift itself. He acknowledges what we are willing to give back to him. This is also about service not only for God, but for the community in which we move. …show more content…
By truly using stewardship as our sweet spot, which not only includes our financial support, but more so about how we move in the world. How we help that widow, the disenfranchised, being good stewards of the earth…all of creation! The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one 's care is the definition of true stewardship. It’s not about the church structure alone, but the communal aspect of the church.
(Reminds me of The Grinch when he has taken all of their holiday trees and decorations everything has been removed, yet the people of Who Ville start to sing at the top of their lungs as the new day arrives).
In closing, there are perhaps but a handful of truths at the core of Christian faith. Here’s one. At the center of the universe is no mere passionless force, no piece of cold rock. Our trust is that the God at the center of the universe is a great, giving, burning, forgiving God.
Like the widow who knew the meaning of stewardship in ancient Temple of stone and knew it for what it was and gave everything anyway, the God of Love knows you and me as temples of flesh, for what we are and loves us anyway, loves us as we cannot conceive, loves us with our sin, loves us in our sin, loves us so deeply that, like the widow, “God gave
First, God is interested in our giving. God has given us so much in time and talents and money ergo he wants to see what we do with all that abundance. When our giving is done right, it is an act of worship. It shows the extent of our generosity and our selflessness. Similarly, God is more interested in our motives and attitudes then God is in the gift itself. He acknowledges what we are willing to give back to him. This is also about service not only for God, but for the community in which we move. …show more content…
By truly using stewardship as our sweet spot, which not only includes our financial support, but more so about how we move in the world. How we help that widow, the disenfranchised, being good stewards of the earth…all of creation! The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one 's care is the definition of true stewardship. It’s not about the church structure alone, but the communal aspect of the church.
(Reminds me of The Grinch when he has taken all of their holiday trees and decorations everything has been removed, yet the people of Who Ville start to sing at the top of their lungs as the new day arrives).
In closing, there are perhaps but a handful of truths at the core of Christian faith. Here’s one. At the center of the universe is no mere passionless force, no piece of cold rock. Our trust is that the God at the center of the universe is a great, giving, burning, forgiving God.
Like the widow who knew the meaning of stewardship in ancient Temple of stone and knew it for what it was and gave everything anyway, the God of Love knows you and me as temples of flesh, for what we are and loves us anyway, loves us as we cannot conceive, loves us with our sin, loves us in our sin, loves us so deeply that, like the widow, “God gave