Kingdom Currency

It was a typical Sunday morning after a long week. The Sunday morning routine was well underway. Very familiar sounds could be heard in my home. Alarms buzzing with the wake-up call. Showers washing away the dirt and grime of the previous day. Hair dryers and straighteners creating beautiful hairstyles. My older girls, 15 and 12 yrs old, fighting over the bathroom. Clothes thrown into the dryer in hopes that the wrinkles will disappear(I know you do this too!). The Keurig brewing a cup of life-saving java. Cereal being poured into bowls for breakfast. My 4 yr old whining for donuts. The sliding door opening and closing to put out the dog. The dog running into the woods. Searching for the dog. Yelling the countdown to exit to my kids at least a half a dozen times. Breaking up 2 more fights before we actually walk out the door. More times than not, it is a battle to make it out the door to church. I have wanted to give in to defeat a thousand times over. Exasperation, annoyance, and defeat were setting in.

But we made it to church. I sit at the piano ready for worship practice. But not before stopping by the coffee bar for one more glorious cup. We begin to practice. Everyone's a little off. The demon in the soundboard is at it again. We stumble through our set list.

Have you ever thought about what you are bringing to the Lord?

Our service begins. The struggles of the morning and even the week begin to melt away as we call down heaven in worship. The Lord begins to move in my heart as I sing the words to this song:

“So what could I say, what could I do?

But offer this heart oh God--

completely to You.

So I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned,

In awe of the one who gave it all.

So I’ll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered

All I am is Yours”

 Heart abandoned.

Soul surrendered.

All I am is Yours.

There was a woman in the New Testament who understood this perfectly. Her story is recorded in both Mark and Luke. She portrayed a concept that I am fondly calling “Kingdom Currency.” This particular story usually appears in teaching about monetary giving.  But let’s try looking at it with a different lens.

Before we go any further, here is the account from Mark 12:41-44(NIV):

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.”

Ok so let’s get this picture in our minds because context is so important.  The widow came in alone. She had lost her husband, and in the Jewish culture this was absolutely devastating. Who would provide for her?  She may have had a son who could provide for her, but the text is unclear. The widow no longer had a protector and she didn’t know when the next sum of money would come in.  Yet she came to worship anyway with her two small coins which hardly amounted to a penny in our currency.

Jesus teaches the twelve not only about the true nature of giving to God, but the true nature of His Kingdom. He states that she has put in more than all those who had gone before her, even though simple addition said differently. They gave out of their wealth; but she gave out of her poverty “everything she had, all she had to live on.”(verse 44)  The Greek word for “live” that is found in this verse is bios, which means her “whole means of life.” She had put her literal ALL in that box.

As I think about the timeline of this story, I realize that Jesus is just days away from his crucifixion. He was in the home stretch of giving his disciples those last few important nuggets of Kingdom truth. He was ready to give his life as a ransom for many.

This is Kingdom currency. Denial of self. Surrender of self. Giving our whole means of life for God’s purpose in that “box.”  What you bring and how much you bring to the Lord MATTERS. It’s the currency for which God can accomplish His will on earth.

How much are you putting in the box today?