Christ Church Daily Devotion March 15 2024

In today's Daily Devotion, we read from Luke 21:1-4. Jesus saw the rich people making a show of their offerings in the temple, while a poor widow quietly gave two small coins. Jesus commended her because she gave sacrificially, while the rich only gave out of their abundance. The passage reminds us to be faithful with what we have, whether we are rich or poor. We should give thanks for our financial blessings and ask God to guide us in giving generously and sacrificially. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for March 15, 2024. Today we will be reading from Luke, chapter 21, verses 1 through 4. 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. Bible scholars tell us that the rich in this passage often drew attention to themselves as they dropped their offerings into the vessels placed in the temple. Imagine trumpets announcing the approach of the rich person holding up their fistful of money for all to see and then dropping it into the treasury with a flourish. We can imagine the poor widow coming quietly and modestly to drop in her two small coins. Her gift was given sacrificially while the rich persons were not, and it was her gift that Jesus commended for all of us. Like a lot of us, I grew up in a financially poor family, yet my mother gave generously to the church. And as a young person hearing this passage or reading it myself, I would identify with her and those who did not have much. Things have changed for me, and now I see myself as one of the rich. While I do not draw attention to or what credit from others or for what I give, I struggle to give as sacrificially as did the poor widow or even my own mother. Jesus calls us to be faithful with whatever we have, and for many of us, that is a lot. Your personal worship option today is to give thanks today for the financial blessings you have, whether a lot or a little. Ask God to guide you in giving generously and sacrificially, and give thanks for others who have shown you the example of faithful giving.