The Value of Pocket Change Pt. 3

Jesus watched everyone that day, but judged only the widow’s offering of 2 mites as acceptable. Jesus judges our giving not by how much we give, but by how much we have left. In St. Luke 18:18-23, Jesus spoke with a rich young ruler, who wanted eternal life, but was unwilling to give up his worldly possessions for the sake of Christ. The Bible never tells us whether or not this widow ever had personal contact with Jesus, but she drew closer to the kingdom of God because of her giving – it came from her heart. The rich young ruler had personal contact with the kingdom of God, but rejected it because it cost too much. The scripture says that he went away sorrowful after speaking with Jesus because he had much. Many of us don’t have nearly what the rich young ruler had, but we still don’t want to give God a true sacrifice either. And this includes more than money. Some of us need to sacrifice our faults, bad habits and issues to the Almighty. They are the little foxes that keep spoiling our vines and the strongholds that keep hindering our breakthroughs. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth easily best us, and let us run this race with patience.” You see, you aren’t the only one who’s had to suffer or sacrifice in life to get somewhere. Moses had to leave his position and the riches of Egypt and spend 40 years in the desert as a shepherd before God was ready to use him as the deliverer of Israel; Abraham forsook his family clan and went to a foreign land based on directions given by a God unknown to him for the future promise of countless offspring; in Gen. 35:2, before he went to Bethel to officially establish his covenant with God, Jacob told all his household “to put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change you garments.” And likewise, all of our little gods have to go as well if we’re to see God manifest himself as promised in our covenant relationship. A nickel’s worth of hatred, a dime’s worth of lust, and penny’s worth of disobedience can mean a pocket full of unanswered prayers. What are you missing out on because of your pocket change sins?

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Many of us are like the widow in our text, empty inside and searching. We don’t have much of anything left, for the devil has tossed us all about. We have a broken heart, shattered dreams, penniless bank accounts, and/or messed up minds. Don’t be ashamed to bring those small sacrifices to Jesus for there is still value in them. God does great things from humble beginnings. The Samaritan woman at the well didn’t have a good reputation, but Jesus made her a missionary; the lame man at the gate called Beautiful didn’t have much strength, but God gave him testimony; the man with the legion of demons controlling his body in the country of Gadarenes didn’t have his mind, but Jesus brought back his sanity.

You may not have much, but willingly sacrifice what you have. You may not have much faith left, but use the mustard seed that you have to trust God. You may not have a lot of food in your own cupboards, but if someone’s hungry, feed him. You may not have much of a praise left, but throw your hands up and say, “Hallelujah” anyway; you may not have a lot of gas in your tank, but come to church anyhow!

God meets you where you are!! When the prodigal son came home, he had nothing more than the clothes on his back. But that was ok; he was still of value. And there is also value in your pocket change!!!

Related Posts

• The Value of Pocket Change Pt. 2
• Don’t Forget to Remember
• The Value of Pocket Change Pt.1
• What Do I Owe?
• The Evolution of a Praying Woman: Part 3
• Spit
• 6 reasons for giving more in 2009
• Forgiveness: How to Forgive Yourself
• The Last Seven Sayings of Jesus
• Let Us Remember