I’ve heard it said that “less is more” but I didn’t know it was in the Bible.
It must be, right? The widow woman puts two small coins in the offering. We can imply that they aren’t worth very much…so how is it that her offering is valued more than the large sums that others have given? It’s because God was looking at what sacrifice was made by each person. She sacrificed more because she gave when she had none to give. We should tithe our income…no question about it. But what we give above that is also monitored by the Lord. I confess that there are many godly people ahead of me in this line, they have given so unselfishly of their time and talents that I dare not even include myself in their company. But I aspire to be part of that group. One day everyone in that group will be standing together in heaven.
Jesus moves on to discuss end times in the remainder of this passage. The order goes like this: 1. you will be persecuted 2. you will see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies 3. there will be wars all over the globe 4. the earth will begin acting crazy (strange tides, red moons, etc) 5. the end will come unexpectedly.
As far as I can tell, there isn’t anything that needs to happen before Jesus returns. Some say the temple will be rebuilt before the return of Christ, but others disagree. As it is, the Muslim temple known as “The dome of the Rock” is on the temple mount now, standing in the place where the temple should be.
I spent some time in Jerusalem several years ago, and admired the construction of the stone walls. I understand how hard it must have been for the disciples to comprehend that these huge retaining walls and temple walls would be destroyed. It wasn’t that hard for me…because they are all gone. Destroyed just like Jesus said. The only visible parts is a shred of the western wall, and a part of the wall that is still underground. They dug a tunnel alongside it at the original street level.
All of this to say one obvious thing: we don’t know when the end will be. The temple is destroyed, the persecution has begun, ended and begun again many times now. War after war has been fought, Hundreds of earth anomalies have been logged. Maybe global warming is simply another sign. Everything is in place. “the leaves are on the tree” so to speak. The Son is coming soon. So be ready.
Being ready has to do with living in harmony with what God wants for us. Living in obedience to His commands, and spending our time in relationship with Him. Praying that God will remove every last bit of sin from our life, and that our lives will be clear representations of what He desires them to be is the only worthwhile use of our time.
Standing up and looking skyward,
PR