Monday, January 28, 2013

Fooling myself and others BUT not Jesus


Sometimes you sit in a church service and go through the motions. Sunday was one of those times for me. We sang and welcomed and watched church news. Anyway I was preaching so I was running through things in my head. What was I going to say? How was I going to say it?

So I had breezed through the service looking like I was engaging but in my heart anything but. Not in rebellion but in preoccupation.

Now it was time for the offering and Mark read a passage that I must have heard a 1000 times in the lead up to an offering:
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." - Mark 12 v 41-44

Still in automatic mode...

Then bam!

Of the poor widow who gave 2 small coins Mark said, "It's amazing how quick Jesus spots true worship and we don't."

To all around during the last 30 minutes I looked like I was engaged, I looked like I was offering "worship". But Jesus knew different. Perspective changed!

Like the people playing out their "worship" in front of Jesus we can get so blindsided by the outward appearance while Jesus always is captivated by the motivation of the heart.

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