What's Left...?

Have you ever had to make a sacrifice? I'm not talking about giving up the last scoop of mashed potatoes in the lunch line to someone else, and instead "settling" for yesterday's green beans...No, I'm talking about real sacrifice...giving so much of ourselves that when we turn to look at what we have left, there isn't much in sight.

I think we oftentimes get the words gift and sacrifice mixed up, and to do so can have a huge impact on how we view our daily walks with Jesus. When it comes to a gift...we tend to focus on the actual item being given... For example, if I came to you and handed you a set of keys to my car as a gift, you would be extrememly happy! What a gift! I sacrificed so much! Not really...What I didn't tell you when I gave you my old car, was that I was given a brand new one 2 days ago...You may appreciate the gift still, but the amount of sacrifice has dwindled...

On the other hand, when we look at giving as a sacrifice...we tend to focus on what we have left. If a gift is more focused on the givee, then a sacrifice is focused more on the giver...what they have given up... Although I can make a gift look really good, there is the possibility that I am holding back a much larger gift for myself... But when it comes to sacrificing something for someone else, we see what it is that we are in fact giving up...

In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus points out this difference as it pertained to people giving their offerings. A bunch of rich peple were giving their large "gifts"...they were impressive amounts of money...to the onlooker, great gifts. But Jesus saw right through it to the other side. He knew that even though these were nice gifts...big amounts...these rich people were still sitting on the comfort of knowing that they still had plenty to rely on for themselves...not much of a sacrifice...

And then a little poor widow comes along and drops 2 coins worth less than a penny into the offering box- all she had to live on...and then Jesus does the unthinkable...He says that her gift was worth more than any of the others...why? Because even though it wasn't a huge gift...it was a huge sacrifice...because when the giving was done, those rich people had sacrificed nothing and she had sacrificed everything...

Jesus doesn't call us to give up huge gifts of time...He calls us to sacrifice our lives... Some of us are more than willing to give up 5 hours of serving others as a our gift...but when it comes to money...we would rather not...why? Because that is where our hearts are...that is where we would need to start sacrificing... Some of us are willing to give a huge gift of money to help others, but when it comes to giving our time or energy...we would rather not...why? Because our hearts rest in our "personal" energy and time...

Jesus desires for us to become like this poor widow...to give sacrificially...to give all that we have, so that we begin to depend on Him...and when we do...that is when we will begin to live life to its fullest...relying on and trusting Jesus!

Use these questions to help guide you deeper into this understanding of gifts and sacrifices! Plan to join us this Thursday night for Senior High KAIROS at Matt & Amanda's at 7pm!

1. Read Luke 21:1-4...jot down some of your initial thoughts about the way this story plays out...

2. What is easy for you to give up? (Time, Energy, Money, Etc...) Why is this?

3. What is hard for you to give up? Why is this?

4. What do you think it means to "give out of (our) poverty" (verse 4)?

We hope to see you Thursday night!