DAILY DEVOTIONAL – June 25, 2019
“All In All”
Prayer: Holy God, You are the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. You have proven so faithful in Your Words, in Your love and in Your mercies for us each day. Especially as we find them in Your beloved Son Jesus. Grant us the strength of faith Lord to trust You with our everything, for all that we truly have is You. Amen.
Scriptures: Included below in devotional
Devotional – “All in All”
When Elizabeth Taylor died, the magazine USA Today reported on the manner in which Taylor wanted to appear in her what she called her “final role.” Here is what they said. “True to the sense of humor and flair that defined her life, Elizabeth Taylor knew exactly how she wanted her final starring role to play out. Her publicist tells Lifeline Live in a statement that Taylor wanted to be late for her own funeral: ‘The service was scheduled to begin at 2 pm but at Miss Taylor’s request started late. Miss Taylor had left instructions that it was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled, with the announcement, “She even wanted to be late for her own funeral.’”
I think we all want to be remembered for something in life. We all want our lives to have mattered and we want our lives to have had a positive impact somehow, someway. As we grow older, and mature, hopefully that desire to be remembered has less to do with being the best at something or having the most of something, and is more about leaving a legacy of character; a legacy of quality rather than quantity, of substance rather than supremacy…a legacy of faith in something bigger than ourselves. For the follower of Jesus Christ, we are called to leave a legacy of faith. Not a legacy of how great and magnificent our own faith was, but instead, a life and legacy of faith that points toward how great and magnificent Jesus is…the one in whom we place our faith and trust in.
There are many memorable lives and events and legacies of faith we read about in Scripture. In fact, chapter 11 of Hebrews is often called the “Hall of Faith” for just that reason. However, Jesus said that there would be one person in particular who would be remembered by all generations and all people everywhere that would hear the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Do you know who it was? Abraham? Paul? Moses? Peter? Nope. Though they certainly are remembered for their great faith and for good reasons, Jesus explicitly said another person’s faith would be remembered forever.
Who was it then? Truth is, we don’t know her name. She was an unnamed woman. The story of her is found in Mark 14:3-9:
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
An unknown woman in Bethany poured the most expensive of oils on the head of our Lord. She had heard and believed how the Lord taught that He would give Himself for the sins of the world. What is more precious, more valuable or more important than the gift of God in the sacrifice of His own Son? Nothing, so as our passage said, this woman took a very expensive perfume and poured out her devotion to the Lord.
I am so much reminded when I read about this woman unknown woman in Bethany, of another unknown woman, a widow who I believe is just as memorable. Listen to the story of this widow from Mark 12.
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44
We learn time and again throughout the Scriptures that a genuine faith, a faith that is firmly planted in the sufficiency of Christ and the faithful provision of God, cannot help but lay all they have to live on at the feet of Christ. To see Christ is to see that the very treasures of heaven have already been given to you and to me. If God would give to us, if God would sacrifice for us sinful people His most precious and only Son, what good thing do we think God would now withhold from us? As Paul says in Romans, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32.
Jesus says in Luke 12:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? – do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. Your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things. Seek first his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
What need do we have that God won’t provide for? He has promised to take care of them all. Of course, the difficulty of trusting our Father for our needs is when we confuse what we want with what we need. Trusting in our loving Father’s care and provision is even more complicated when we insist on defining what our needs are rather than allowing Him both decide and provide for what we need. If we are honest, I think we can all admit that it has not been just a few times we have been convinced we know what’s best for us and have paid dearly for it.
Of particular note for our devotion today is what our Lord said that this woman “she did what she could do.” You know friends, when it comes to our tithes and offerings, the truth is God doesn’t need our money to accomplish His will, or to equip us for our mission to proclaim the Gospel. Just as valuable, dare I say MORE valuable than an offering of money, is the offering of yourself…the giving of yourself to God for His glory. The giving of your worries, of your desires, of your fears, of your goals, of your time, of your abilities, your thoughts, your words, your actions…the giving of your everything. As the Lord said of the unnamed woman at Bethany, “she did what she could.”
At least for the time being here in the United States, you are still free to speak your faith boldly, and it doesn’t cost even a penny for to share your hope and faith in Christ with your neighbor, friend, co-worker or family member that does not yet know the joy of knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sure, there may be other costs involved…popularity, the criticism and backlash of people offended by your words…but more valuable than any amount of money you could give the poor or to a friend in need, and more valuable than any other favor or gift you could ever give a person, is giving them the Good News of the love of God in Jesus Christ.
How do you ever say thank you enough to God for such an amazing sacrifice as that of His Son Jesus Christ? The truth is, we can’t. We must proclaim with Paul in 2 Corinthians 9, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” Furthermore, friends, God isn’t holding out a measuring cup us asking us to give enough back to Him. No, God is God. He has no needs. He Himself is sufficient for Himself…and for us. His salvation in Jesus and His love and care and mercy and provision to us each and every day is given freely. Christ has already paid the price in full for us.
God calls us to lay everything down at His feet not because He needs it, but because we need it. When we surrender all of our time and talents and treasures to Him, we are freed from the bondage and trappings of this material world that deceives us constantly into believing we have to have this or that or do this or that to be happy. Friends, some of the most genuinely happy people I have ever met, are some of the most disadvantaged in regards to the world’s measure of blessing. In Christ we all have that peace and joy that surpasses not only our understanding, but also any circumstance or challenge we may find ourselves in.
Surrender it all to Christ. You will find your everything only in Him – and remember, God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
