Timeless Temple Treasures - 7/16/2010

Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

I have heard this verse many times before, but only recently did I allow it to sink in. Try to picture it if you can. Everything Jesus said will stand eternally. When there are no more countries, no more earth, no more heaven, only eternity with the Holy One, the words of Christ will still remain. They will outlast any building, any investment, any vehicle, any mountain.

It's interesting to think that in 60,000 years, we will still be with our Lord, and the words He spoke on Earth 2,000 years ago - that we can read right now in the Bible - will remain. Kind of makes me want to pay closer attention!

With that in mind, I read the story of the poor widow in Luke:

Luke 21:1-4, "As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth,' He said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'"

This account of a poor widow will be part of eternity, these words will never be erased or forgotten. I know of a poor widow, I included a picture of her. Haregewoin Teferra. She is Ethiopian, and a remarkable woman. You can read more about her here. She lived in one of the poorest countries on Earth, with the average income ranking 213 out of 227 countries. People in Haiti and Afghanistan make more than Ethiopians. The United States ranked 11th on the list.

• Average annual income for an American: $46,400

• Average annual income for an Ethiopian: $900

This woman was poor, but like the poor widow Jesus saw in the temple, she put everything she had into God's treasury. She gave her life to God's children, orphaned by AIDS and starvation. About 400 children over the years. The little money she did make went toward housing and feeding the kids brought to her by aid workers who had nowhere else to bring these innocent victims of circumstance. I know some Americans who don't want to have a third or fourth child because they think they can't afford it...

Looking back from eternity, we will be able to say that we were alive at the same time as this woman. I can't imagine meeting somebody like her and comparing what she was able to accomplish with my own use of what God gave me. The fact that I'm American and she's Ethiopian won't really matter that much. We were on the same planet at the same time, given the same chance to serve with our resources. Imagine what any of the poor widows who gave everything they had to God's treasury would say to us if we talked about it in heaven!

"Oh, you were an American? Wow, you were R-I-C-H! Didn't you people make like $46,400 on average in 2009? What did you do with all that money?"

"Well, I bought a nice home."

"I bet! How many kids lived there, like 1000?"

"Uh, no ... just a couple."

"Oh. Well probably a whole village of widows then!"

"Um .. no. We did have a dog though. He needed lots of toys and food and affection and room to run around."

"The dog lived inside your very nice home? Where did the orphans live?"

"Uh ... outside."

"Hm. So, did you use all of your money to feed those kids outside then? I bet they at least ate a lot of food thanks to you!"

"Well ... actually, no. I wish now that was true, but really ... I ate very, very well. In fact, I didn't even make my own food most of the time. I would go places and pay other people to make it and then serve it to me."
"So you gave the rest to the Lord, then? Did you place that wealth in the treasury so God's workers could use it?"

"Not really. I mean, I gave ten percent of it to God because I had to."

"Do you remember the story of the woman in the temple? Of course you do. The words of the Lord are everlasting. Are you aware that you are just like the rich people who gave out of their wealth? I made less than $900 that same year. Pretty much all of it went toward rice for the kids I kept from starving to death on the street. In fact, you can see some of them over there..."

Even with a poor attempt at an eternal perspective, it should be obvious that the poorest of the poor in this country still have more than the average person in a country like Ethiopia, where one poor widow was still able to give enough to literally save hundreds of lives.

So what are we to do then with the wealth we have been blessed with?

More.

Always more.

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' - when you now have it with you." - Proverbs 2:27-28

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