A couple Sundays ago, I showed this picture in my sermon. The passage was Mark 12:41-44, where Jesus praises the poor woman who had little, but tithed all she had, while the rich had much, but only tithed a little. Now, the focus of my sermon wasn’t finances, but giving of the heart and every part of our beings. See, Jesus saw many rich people put in huge percentages of their great wealth (which I’m sure was still a good thing to see), but when compared to the widow, they gave only a little bit of what they had, while the poor widow gave ALL that she had, even though it was only a little. Why did she do this? Because she trusted that God would care and provide for her when needed. The rich had more at home to live on, but when she got home, there was nothing left – nothing to pay for food to feed her child/children; nothing with which to pay the rent, or taxes; nothing with which to pay for medicine, should any of them become sick; she trusted God with everything. So you see, it’s not about how much money you give, but how much of yourself you give – the rich had much and gave a little, the poor woman had little and gave all.
Jesus Gave Up Everything For Us
It takes a lot to trust God enough to give Him our everything (and this is where I showed this picture), but Jesus gave up everything for us.
Jesus In This Way
But no more than a minute after showing this picture, one of my students asked me to switch back to the previous picture. I thought it was because he wanted to see something again, but then I realized that it was because he didn’t want to see Jesus in this way, and others agreed. They didn’t want the guilt to pierce their hearts for not trusting Him with everything, even after He went through this for us, yeah, but they also didn’t want to see Jesus in this way. Once I learned this though, I switched it back to this picture, not because I want them to have nightmares or anything, but because they NEED to see Jesus like this – beaten to a pulp, bleeding, pierced with nails about as long as their forearms, rejected by everybody He loved, and dying in the hot sun. They NEEDED to see this.
The Passion of Christ” by Mel Gibson
When I asked my students if they’d ever seen “The Passion of Christ” by Mel Gibson, and most of them hadn’t. One student said they have it at home, but she watched it when she was younger and it gave her nightmares. I’ll admit, the scene where they whipped and tore His flesh from His body is really tough to watch, but to delete it from our minds and see Jesus simply as a handsome fellow with flowing hair and robes who healed people out of His love for them, taught them how to live in tough times without any expectations in return, and who died and rose again 3 days later like it was no big deal is simply not the Lord God Almighty, nor is He the God about whom I’m testifying.
Jesus Is In the World Today
It’s interesting though, about just how common this false image of Jesus is in the world today, too, ya know? Nobody wants to see Jesus as the One who gave up everything for us and asks – no, demands that we do the same (give up everything) for Him. Instead, the world wants to see Jesus as a loving person with semi-good teachings, maybe an authority figure who showed the world how to love, but surely not God, and surely not as somebody who expects everything in return from those who claim to love Him back, and definitely not somebody who had the snot beaten out of Him and was nailed to a wooden plank, rejected, and left to die for a crime He didn’t commit.
The Lord How We May Serve Him More
I suppose this would explain the direction the world has gone, or gotten to where it is recently…each morning we wake up, we have the opportunity to ask the Lord how we may serve Him more – “Lord, how can I serve you more today?” And each day, we need to imagine God asking the questions, “How much of yourself will you give to me?” If there’s any part of us that we haven’t given to Jesus yet, we need to ask Him to show us what those parts are, and to help us trust Him enough to give them over to Him.
Look At the Picture As A Reminder If You Must
Remember (and look at the picture as a reminder if you must): Jesus didn’t hold back when He gave us every part of Himself. We, as Christians, need to give every part of ourselves to Him, also.
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