God knows all and everything because he is the Maker of
heavens and the earth. Especially he knows our hearts. In the Scripture there
are so many cases which blow our mind because it is so contrary to our
knowledge and practices of this age. Here is one example. Jesus commends a poor
widow who offered two very small copper coins that she put in more than all
other rich people who offered big checks. Why is it so revolutionarily
different each other? Because what is unseen is not the same as what is seen. What
is seen is not all but what is unseen is. Even though we’re living in the
world, we’re in invisible heaven where God reigns and rules in glory and honor
and power and might. The word of God is written for teaching, reproaching,
correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Why do we need be
taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness? Because what we learn
and know by birth and in the world is not accurate and correct. The devil has
critically twisted and distorted the understanding of humanity with the deadly
poison spread all over our body, which is called sin in the Scripture. Christ
has come to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness. Let’s heed to
his teaching and be rebuked and corrected and trained in righteousness.
“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.’” (Luke 21:1-4)
Her offering is incomparably smaller than that of the rich.
Why does Jesus say then the other way? First, what God sees is not monetary
amount but heart, not quantity but quality if you will. Our Lord God knows what
is in man. “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all
people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in
each person.” (John 2:24-25) The rich people most likely presented their gifts
of big check into the temple treasury, being highly noticed and exalted by the
religious priests and people. They blow the trumpet to get the attention and
present their gifts. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with
trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be
honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
(Matthew 6:2) Lord Jesus says they have received their reward in full and thus
nothing given to God though they give their gifts out of wealth. They are merely
self-serving and praise-seeking by others, not by the Father in heaven.
Some are wealthy and some poor every place in this world.
But wealth and poverty are neither morally right nor wrong. It is not true
wealth brings happiness and poverty does unhappiness to mankind. It is not
wrong to give their gifts out of wealth. It is not true that we have to give
everything we have as our gifts to God. It is not what our Lord Jesus is saying
though some interpret that way. What is it that God is seeking out of our
gifts? It’s gratitude toward God who is all and in all. She has little to give
to God but in wanting to do anyways. What she has is really little, just two very
small copper coins. So, most likely she would bring her gifts with fear and trembling
because it is so little, almost nothing. She might be afraid of being noticed
by someone but she was seen by none other than the Son of God Jesus Christ. It
is told as if the moment of widow’s giving was seen through the gigantic
telescope from heaven. Her gifts was in fact considered more valuable than
those of the rich. Our God is faithfully vigilant to catch all the moments of
exercising the faith in Christ Jesus. “And we know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.” (Romans 8:28) As a matter of fact, nothing happens without him and
all things are in him and through him. This poor widow has never been outsight
of God’s radar of the fatherly care. I don’t believe that this one act of giving
her gifts has moved the heart of Jesus. Rather, she has been made righteous by
the grace of God through her faith in Christ. She is being accepted by the
Father in heaven as a dear child of God because the Son of Man has been
defending her in every area of her lives.
God’s mathematics is completely different from that of the
world. How is the world functioning and running? The world says to save
ourselves and to take care ourselves because if not we will not survive in this
jungle-like hostile and competitive age. It also says not to give up our rights
at any degree and whatsoever cost because it is the right thing to do. It sounds
quite honestly compelling and convincing in hearing the claims of the world if
exposed to just a handful of seemingly unfortunate circumstances. What about
being bullied in school? What about being falsely accused without cause? What about
being innocently cheated and deceived? What about being persecuted in traffic on
the streets? What about being discriminated in work place? What about being
treated like nobody or nothing? What about all the social injustices being
practiced in every corner of our communities everyday? It is not difficult to succumb
to the circumstances and to become revengeful and vindictive. So, Apostle John
is saying to Christians not to love the world and anything in the world in the
Epistle of John. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone
loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the
world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes
not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away,
but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) Here, the
world does not indicate the universe God has made but the pattern of this world
which is assuredly saying we should claim our rights now and never give up.
But God says completely the opposite of what the world says.
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells to his disciples, “Whoever finds their life will
lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew
10:39) How could we find life when we lose our life for Christ’s sake? Christ
demonstrated that how we can find life through his death on a cross and the
following resurrection from the dead on the third day. It is the mystery of God
that Christ gave up all his rights for honor, power, glory, and authority as
the Son of God and became a human being in the form of a servant and obeyed the
Father even to the point of death. “Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather,
he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-9) Thus,
the Father in heaven exalted the Son of Man above all names in heaven and on
earth and under the earth. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians
2:10-11) Our Lord Jesus didn’t gain anything out of the world because there was
nothing to give him in the world. All he received was the false accusations and
persecutions and eventually death on a cross from the world. He voluntarily
offered his body as the ransom sacrifice on behalf of the sin of the world.
But that’s the not the end of story. Christ did not stay in
the cold tomb forever but on the third day he was raised from the dead
according to the Scriptures. Because it was impossible for death to get its hold
on Christ Jesus. “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony
of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts
2:24) Thousands of ten thousands of people have been saved and released from
the grip of darkness and confusion under the devil’s lie through Jesus Christ
who once for all died for the sin of the world and was buried and risen from
the dead. When Jesus denied and submitted himself to the Father even to the
point of death, God gave him the name of above every name and let him be seated
in the highest place of all heavens. That’s God’s mathematics. How can be sure
of all that? Because our God is faithful in keeping his promises. What’s the
promise? Jesus says to his disciples not to worry what to eat, what to drink, or
what to wear, because God is our heavenly Father who is greatly concerning our
well-beings on earth, let alone in heaven.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they
do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying
add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how
the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
This is a narrow path and a few come through it. It is giving
ourselves to the Lord God one after another. God is giving his love all the
time. He gives, gives, and gives now and forevermore. He still loves when he is
seemingly silent. He still loves in the midst of struggles and challenges. He still
loves when it seems he is doing nothing. His love reservoir never runs dry. It flows,
flows, and flows from the grace throne, rivers of living water. The Father God
lived in the Son Jesus Christ and the Son in the Father. Likewise, Christ lives
in us and we in Christ. it is the hope of glory for mankind, “Christ in you.” We
are dearly cared and protected by none other than the Father in heaven, not
because we give our gifts out of wealth but because we have been made righteous
in Christ through faith. Abraham followed the narrow path, Isaac and Jacob, and
Moses, King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi did too. They did not follow the pattern of the world, but God. They
did not receive what was promised but hoped for the city God had built for them
even before the time began. “These were all commended for their faith, yet none
of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better
for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews
11:39-40)
April 20, 2017
© 2015-2017 David
Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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