Surrounded

I went on a safari in the Masai Mara a couple years back.

It was incredible. We saw a pride of lions, a herd of wildebeests, the most graceful giraffes and, honestly, the ugliest warthogs (Disney really misled me with Pumbaa – warthogs are not even a little bit cute).

But I was most captivated by the elephants.

We came across a herd and could see a baby elephant as we drew near. She was sleeping.

As we go closer, seven or eight adult elephants took their place around her and glared at us until we’d moved on.

Our guide explained that elephants are a protective species. They care for the most vulnerable among their herd. They surround the youngest so that if a predator attacks, the strongest of the herd can defend the weakest.

Jesus did the same. He cared for the most vulnerable. He defended the weak.

Actually, if you pay attention to the whole story of the Bible, you’ll notice that God cares deeply for the poor, widows, orphans, and outcasts.

He has called us to surround the weak and the vulnerable. He has called us to love and protect the weakest among us.

That includes, of course, the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the outcasts.

It also includes our friends and family members struggling in their marriage or with an addiction or through a devastating diagnosis or dealing with doubts and questions.

We’re called to surround one another. To protect one another. To defend one another.

If you’ve ever been surrounded, protected, defended by those that love you, you know how it matters.

So, do that – be that – for others.

Nothing But Everything

Jesus has been dealing all week with those jockeying for social status, political power, and financial gain. He can hardly step foot in the Temple without being confronted by people that want Him dead.

Now, in a rare moment of peace, He sits back and observes.

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. (Mark 12:41-42, NLT)

The smallest coin in Jesus’ day was the lepta. This is akin to a woman dropping two pennies in the offering basket at church.

Hardly anyone else would have noticed, but Jesus is astounded. He called His disciples over to show them what she had done.

“I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:43-44, NLT)

The translation here is a bit unfortunate. The Greek more literally reads “her whole life,” rather than “everything she had to live on.”

New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine writes, “Jesus’ focus is not simply on her economic state; it is on her life. This is no small matter. It’s everything she has.”

That is really important.

See, we often talk about money very differently than Jesus did.

There are those who claim God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and happy and if you aren’t, well, then you just don’t have enough faith. But Jesus makes no such promise.

There are others who believe the wealthy to be the worst of all sinners and that poverty is inherently next to godliness. But Jesus levels no such charge.

Yes, you can be wealthy and greedy. You can also be poor and greedy.

See, it’s not about what’s in your wallet. It’s is about what’s in your heart.

It’s is not about how much you have. It’s is about how much you give.

Jesus holds this woman up as exemplary not because she is poor, but because she is generous.

She holds nothing back. She gives everything she has.

Jesus is days away from the cross.

There He will hold nothing back. There He will give everything He has.

And He asks nothing less from us.

He asks that we give our money generously.

He asks that we give our time generously.

He asks that we give our hearts and our lives generously.

He asks for nothing less than our everything.

Take a couple minutes and read Mark 12:41-44. Imagine watching that scene unfold and reflect on what it means to give ““[your] whole life” as an offering.