Upside-Down Kingdom, Jan 25th

The sermon this morning at Middlefield FUMC was focused around Mark 12:41-44, "The Widow's Offering". Pastor Ed marked his sermon with the title "Belt Tightening". I thought he was preaching on weight loss for our church, but I was disappointed yet again :)

Our world has changed quickly over the past few years and us in Northeast Ohio can see the down turn very easily. Ed noted how our unemployment rate was the highest in 25 years and how the Lordstown plant is down to 1 shift for its auto workers. Our world looks very different today, and for many of us, it begs the question... "how is God speaking to this moment?"

Simply reflecting on our economic situation can seem daunting, yet when we reflect on a scripture like Mark 12:41-44, we are moved to a even deeper place.

The widow, she gives everything she has...everything!

Wow.

Everything.

Lets just sit with that for a second.

(pause)

All of her money.

What would it look like to give everything to God today?

What impact would that have on our churches, our charities, our social agencies if we gave everything to God?

I am not saying that we should be giving our entire paychecks into the offering plate on Sunday morning. I am not saying that you are less of a Christian if you don't (I don't). What I am saying, however, and maybe this is what God is saying, is that we should think about it.

Just thinking about it stretches us. Merely perusing the idea empowers this scripture and challenges us to go deeper. Maybe some of us really need to think about money and how we spend it?

Surrender is such a key topic within the Christian life. We grow into this perspective as we grow as Christians, and as we think about our finances, it is apparent that what we spend money on reflects what we value and what we are surrendering to.

So, as we give our offering, we are saying that we value what God is up to. We are not surrendering to all of the wants and desires that we want, and we are saying that we value what God is doing. We are aligning our hearts with the vision that God has for the world...that vision of justice and hope and peace.

This is kingdom living.

It is upside-down, turned around and backwards for us to give in our economic situation today, but it reflects the values that we have for the world.

We begin to live deeper into the story that God has for our world when we give, because in doing so, our hearts and our minds begin to resemble the vision that God has for all of us.

So, what do you value? What are you surrendering to?

I took a moment to look at my bank statement and I learned a lot. What is God teaching you about your finances?

I am sure glad that we didn't talk about weight loss this morning because I sure was challenged to think deeper about an issue that is very alive within our world today :)

Grace and Peace,

Micah