God has chosen us to show
His mystery Of long ago
When He was born
Where shepherds bow
And cattle fed
And roosters crowed
To simplest hearts
His glory know!
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
Luke 1:51-52 ESV
Mary I have News
Copyright 2017
by Peter Caligiuri
To Simplest Hearts
Copyright 2022
by Peter Caligiuri
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. Mark 12:42-43 ESV
Last year after we finished our Christmas caroling at a nursing home, we began to pass out large print Christmas devotional books as our gift to the residents. Most of them lit up with smiles and thanked us for the books as our volunteers handed them out. But as they got to the back of the room, one lady gently reached out and slipped three one-dollar bills into their hand. Despite urging her that she didn’t need to pay for our gift, the woman insisted, “No please take it! I want to give something!”
In that dear lady I suddenly saw the widow in today’s verse. She showed us that the longing to give is a basic desire of every Christian heart. Though some of us, have had that desire dampened by people who have taken unfair advantage of us, Jesus never mentioned anything about how well the two little coins the widow contributed, were spent. What made her gift precious was the love that she gave it with. None of the rich guys who went ahead of her had impressed Jesus. But the small sacrifice that that woman eagerly gave was a treasure to Him. Her two pennies and our lady’s three dollars remind us that whether we offer gold, frankincense, and myrrh or just two pennies, God sees more than pennies. He is watching our hearts today!
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 1 Peter 1:8 KJV
I love that, Peter, who had walked on water with Jesus, seen Him transfigured on the mountain and had a meal with Him after the resurrection, intersects with our world. Peter encourages us that even though we will never have the privilege of seeing Jesus with our own eyes, that it is God’s plan for us to experience a glorious unspeakable joy. I confess that most days, I miss out on that joy. I get so preoccupied with busyness, problems, or sorrow that I forget about Jesus. Like Peter did on the day He walked on water, I get my eyes on the wind and waves, or when I do experience a little of His glory, I end up sidelined by religious duties as Peter did when he offered to build three tabernacles on the mountain while Jesus stood shining before them. But, just as Jesus waited for Peter, after fishing all night, so He waits for you and me. No, we will not see him through the morning fog on the beach, but we can see Him through eyes of love and faith on the shoreline of our situation today. Jesus still walks out on the wind and waves to our boats, waits at the manger and lingers outside the empty tomb until the eyes of our heart recognize Him. Then – oh the joy that enters into the holy place of our hearts! Though not seeing, if we simply believe, God has promised to give us an unspeakable joy through all eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
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