A Savior for the Small
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21
If you knew you only had a few days to live, don't you think that every moment you spent and every word you spoke would be very intentional? We're always fascinated with the last days and moments of people's lives, because I think we know that they hold such significance.
Each year, Holy Week becomes a little more special to me. There is something that draws me to the portions of Scripture that give an account of Jesus' last days on earth. Jesus lived each moment of his life with purpose, but there is still something remarkable about that last week. It was a week that lead up to the greatest moment in the history of mankind.
After Jesus makes his bittersweet ride into town on Palm Sunday, his next days and hours are filled with heated encounters with the high and mighty of this world. You can feel the tension mounting as Jesus confronts those who are dying to kill him. He continues his work of ripping away the pretension and self-righteousness of those who think they know all, while he passionately preaches the truth to any who will listen.
And then, in the midst of all the heated debate and tense confrontation, someone catches his eye.
As he looks up, past all the pompous men in sweeping robes, he sees someone small. Someone insignificant. Someone who is probably invisible to everyone else in the temple that day.
A poor widow. A lady whose life was very ordinary and who went unnoticed by most. A person who didn't have much to contribute in regards to money, influence, or power. Someone whose life seemed very small.
Sometimes, doesn't life just feel small? Insignificant? Pointless, even?
Laundry and cooking and sweeping and clipping nails and telling stories to preschoolers and making lunches and pinching pennies and communicating only through emails and wiping up never-ending dust and poring over lists of spelling words seems small sometimes.
It seems to go unnoticed.
But there is one who sees and values and takes note of. There is one who makes big things small and small things big. There is one who pauses in the midst of the heated battle with the enemy to applaud.
Almighty God in the flesh, who was on the verge of saving the world and defeating the enemy once and for all, stopped and noticed one small woman and her small offering. He not only noticed, but he pointed it out to those around him as noteworthy. He took a moment out of his last moments on earth to point out a job well done. He wanted others to notice what they would never see otherwise. There were too many "more important people" in the way, so he had to draw their attention to the one they'd never see or think anything of.
Jesus took the time, in the midst of the most important week that has ever been, to remind us of the potential we all have to make his heart happy. It doesn't matter our circumstances or our resources. The only thing that matters is the attitude of our heart. That's all it takes to make our Lord stop and applaud. A heart that does all things for him. A heart that trusts him for our next meal and our next breath and all our joy.
And it occurred to me, after I saw the tenderness of Jesus toward this one small woman...did she even know? The disciples knew and we know, but did she? In that moment, did she know that her Creator and Redeemer, the Lord of all, noticed her? Did she know how pleased he was? Did she even know that he picked her out of that bustling crowd to applaud? Or did she have to wait until she entered eternity to find out how pleased he was?
In this Passion Week, I want Jesus' tenderness and pleasure to settle on me. In the midst of the fiery battle for the souls of men, I want him to pause and notice. I want him to see a heart that joyfully serves him even in the little things. Even when I don't notice him noticing. Because isn't a Savior who notices the little things worth pleasing?
If you knew you only had a few days to live, don't you think that every moment you spent and every word you spoke would be very intentional? We're always fascinated with the last days and moments of people's lives, because I think we know that they hold such significance.
Each year, Holy Week becomes a little more special to me. There is something that draws me to the portions of Scripture that give an account of Jesus' last days on earth. Jesus lived each moment of his life with purpose, but there is still something remarkable about that last week. It was a week that lead up to the greatest moment in the history of mankind.
After Jesus makes his bittersweet ride into town on Palm Sunday, his next days and hours are filled with heated encounters with the high and mighty of this world. You can feel the tension mounting as Jesus confronts those who are dying to kill him. He continues his work of ripping away the pretension and self-righteousness of those who think they know all, while he passionately preaches the truth to any who will listen.
And then, in the midst of all the heated debate and tense confrontation, someone catches his eye.
As he looks up, past all the pompous men in sweeping robes, he sees someone small. Someone insignificant. Someone who is probably invisible to everyone else in the temple that day.
A poor widow. A lady whose life was very ordinary and who went unnoticed by most. A person who didn't have much to contribute in regards to money, influence, or power. Someone whose life seemed very small.
Sometimes, doesn't life just feel small? Insignificant? Pointless, even?
Laundry and cooking and sweeping and clipping nails and telling stories to preschoolers and making lunches and pinching pennies and communicating only through emails and wiping up never-ending dust and poring over lists of spelling words seems small sometimes.
It seems to go unnoticed.
But there is one who sees and values and takes note of. There is one who makes big things small and small things big. There is one who pauses in the midst of the heated battle with the enemy to applaud.
Almighty God in the flesh, who was on the verge of saving the world and defeating the enemy once and for all, stopped and noticed one small woman and her small offering. He not only noticed, but he pointed it out to those around him as noteworthy. He took a moment out of his last moments on earth to point out a job well done. He wanted others to notice what they would never see otherwise. There were too many "more important people" in the way, so he had to draw their attention to the one they'd never see or think anything of.
Jesus took the time, in the midst of the most important week that has ever been, to remind us of the potential we all have to make his heart happy. It doesn't matter our circumstances or our resources. The only thing that matters is the attitude of our heart. That's all it takes to make our Lord stop and applaud. A heart that does all things for him. A heart that trusts him for our next meal and our next breath and all our joy.
And it occurred to me, after I saw the tenderness of Jesus toward this one small woman...did she even know? The disciples knew and we know, but did she? In that moment, did she know that her Creator and Redeemer, the Lord of all, noticed her? Did she know how pleased he was? Did she even know that he picked her out of that bustling crowd to applaud? Or did she have to wait until she entered eternity to find out how pleased he was?
In this Passion Week, I want Jesus' tenderness and pleasure to settle on me. In the midst of the fiery battle for the souls of men, I want him to pause and notice. I want him to see a heart that joyfully serves him even in the little things. Even when I don't notice him noticing. Because isn't a Savior who notices the little things worth pleasing?
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