Every now and then the Bible gives us the picture of the art
of devotion. I define the art of devotion as the art of living extravagantly
for God. Today’s passage is short, but filled with devotion:
(Mark 12:41-44 NIV)
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the
crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in
large amounts. {42} But a poor widow came and put in two very small
copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. {43} Calling his
disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the
truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
{44} They all gave out of their wealth; but she,
out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."
The
temptation in this passage is to launch immediately into the subject of
giving. The point is worth considering, of course, but what strikes me about
this woman is the nature of devotion. Most commentaries will focus on what a
large percentage (namely, all) of her money was given. This ignores the more
obvious point: of how little practical value was the gift.
Indeed, the gift is of very
little value. The Greek word is lepton, which was later picked up by
physicists to signify “light” particles such as electrons. The coin in
question was so small in value that the Roman Empire had no equivalent. It was
a Greek coin, and four of them made up the equivalent of the Roman penny. In
today’s terms it would be approximately one fortieth of a day’s wages, or
perhaps a dollar. This in a wealthy nation; in a third world nation the
amount would be so small as to be completely insignificant. But the amount was
extremely significant to her; it was all she had.
These two things define an act of
devotion, therefore. It is the giving of a gift or performing a service which
·
Has little or no practical value. From the world’s point of
view, the widow’s two coins were of no significance.
·
Has enormous cost to the giver. From her point of view this was
all she had, and therefore the price was as much as she could bear.
Now, the curious thing is that
Christ commends her. The point is not just mathematical, how much more than a
tithe she has given. The point is that she is worthy of praise for such an act
which had no practical value. Why did Christ commend her?
May I suggest that it is because
she has shown a pure imitation of God himself. God is extravagant – in love!
Paul puts it this way:
(Rom 5:6-10 NIV) You
see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. {7} Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for
a good man someone might possibly dare to die. {8} But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died
for us. {9} Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more
shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! {10} For if, when we
were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how
much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We see here
the extravagance of God: for the unworthy sinners (that’s me) he sent his Son,
in the flesh, to pay the price of our sins. But beyond that we have the hope
of heaven, the “well done” of the Father and so much more. Extravagance?
Beyond all measure. The motive could only be love.
Some
examples
The woman is
not unique; devotion is a characteristic of many of the great names in the
Bible. We recall Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac, for example. Here’s
another one:
(1 Chr 29:3-4 NIV)
Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal
treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above
everything I have provided for this holy temple: {4} three thousand
talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver,
for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,
This is King
David’s personal contribution to the building of Solomon’s temple. Just how
big is this? Well, a talent is about 75 pounds. At about $400 per ounce (I’ll
save you the math) that’s about $1.44 billion dollars worth of gold! But
notice something: “over and above everything I have provided…” That means
David had already contributed something:
(1 Chr 22:14 NIV)
"I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred
thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and
iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.
Just the
gold alone is $48 billion! That’s over a hundred tons of gold. And
what did they use it for? To line the walls of the Temple! We have
lost this sense of devotion. No one could build a cathedral like Notre Dame in
Paris today; they’d quibble about the cost. But as a side note, the architect
who designed that cathedral is unknown to us, for the work was to be to the
glory of God, not the architect.
But devotion is not found just in money:
(Luke 7:37-38 NIV)
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was
eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
{38} and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his
feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured
perfume on them.
The jar of
perfume was indeed expensive (some commentators suggest it would have been a
year’s wages for an ordinary working man), but the hair and the tears are not
priced in money. They are priced in the sacrifice of pride. Again, there is
no practical benefit – a basin of hot water would have done better for
cleanliness. The price to her is incredible; the benefit to the practical
world nil – but the extravagance is right from the heart of God.
Mother Teresa no doubt could have
built more buildings and bought more medicine had she devoted her time to
running telethons. But if she had, she would not have been Mother Teresa.
This is extravagance; this is devotion.
Once in a while the Bible gives
us the key to devotion along with the act:
(2 Cor 8:1-5 NIV) And
now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the
Macedonian churches. {2} Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing
joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. {3} For I
testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their
ability. Entirely on their own, {4} they urgently pleaded with us for
the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. {5} And they did
not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to
us in keeping with God's will.
Note the last verse: “they gave
themselves first to the Lord.” It is the root cause of devotion.
The Causes of Devotion
What causes such devotion in a
person? We have seen it already in that love is the prime mover, and this
moves a person to give himself to the Lord first. How does this happen? There
are many ways to approach this. The monks of the Middle Ages would show you
devotional exercises, but the 20th Century looks for logical reasons
for devotion. Here are three:
The pearl of great price
(Mat 13:45-46 NIV)
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
{46} When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he
had and bought it.
Most of us want to hedge our bets.
We believe that security is found in spreading the risk. The merchant here
looked for the main chance, and when he found it, he acted. Do we recognize
Christ as the pearl for which all else must be sold? If we do, he will reward
such devotion:
(Mark 10:29-30 NIV)
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home
or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the
gospel {30} will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present
age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them,
persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.
Faith, not sight
(2 Cor 5:7 NIV) We
live by faith, not by sight.
This is a core principle also.
How can one be extravagant in devotion without it? We so often miss the fact
that the faith must come first, but when it does, the reward is sure:
(Heb 11:6 NIV) And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Joy
May I submit to you that there
are three forms of the phrase, “I have to?”
·
“I have to do it because someone is holding a gun to my head.”
If this is your view of God (I better do this or I will go to hell), then there
will be neither love nor joy in your relationship.
·
“I have to do this because it’s my duty. It’s in the rules.” If
this is your view then your duty will be unpleasant. There may be love, but it
will be grim.
·
“I have to do this because I just can’t help myself – I love
doing it.” In this circumstance you have found joy, and joy gives rise to
devotion.
God rewards such joy by bringing
you into the most joyful of families, the family of God.
Sidebar: a Monk’s Eye View
Just in case
you’re interested, the monks did have a different perspective. Here, very
briefly summarized, is what Thomas à Kempis might have taught you:
·
Meditation – the kingdom of God is within you
·
Humility – your pride prevents devotion, your humility compels
it.
·
Purity of mind – a distracted mind cannot love to the fullest
·
Unity of purpose – another way of stating the pearl of great
price
·
Loving Jesus above all things – the starting point of it all.
What can I do?
Very well,
then, it’s great that David was so rich with gold – but I’m not. Nor am I the
prostitute. And I do have a family to feed. What act of devotion could I
possibly perform?
I give you one possibility:
(Mat 5:43-48 NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.' {44} But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, {45} that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He
causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. {46} If you love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? {47} And
if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not
even pagans do that? {48} Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.
Consider that this example meets
our criteria of devotion: extravagant living toward God. It is of no
practical value, at least from the world’s point of view. It is of great cost
to the giver, for it gives up the revenge, or even justice, to which the giver
feels entitled. But it is the perfect imitation of our God – the extravagant
God.