Empty no more

Bible Reading - Mark 12:38-44

For many people, life is like a giant masquerade ball. They pretend to have joy from seeking pleasures. They fake smiles of satisfaction from their achievements. Yet when they are alone and take off their masks, they feel empty.

God sees beyond our external appearance, achievements and acquisitions to our hearts. He knows our secret thoughts and deepest longings. He understands the depth of our emptiness.

In Mark 12:38-44, Jesus looked through the external acts of people and zeroed in on their inner intentions and attitudes. Here we see two contrasting sets of characters.

The scribes (teachers of the Law) were dressed in flowing robes and uttered long prayers (v38-40). They looked good, spoke well, and enjoyed high status among the people. They loved receiving honour from others while exploiting poor and helpless widows. Their goal was to gain greater prominence for themselves. The scribes might have fooled their fellow men, but not Jesus. The Son of God saw through their empty religion and pointed out their hypocrisy.

In contrast to the arrogant scribes was the poor widow (v41-44). She was probably dressed shabbily and was unknown to most people. She could only afford to give two pitiful copper coins as an offering, while the rich around her poured in huge sums of money. Perhaps they were sneering at her for her lack.

But Jesus was moved by this widow. He praised her sincere faith for she had given to God all that she had (v44). The two small copper coins could very well have been her entire earnings for that day. By offering them she would have barely enough left to survive. Jesus declared that she had contributed more than others (v43). He was so impressed by the poor widow, that He used her as an example of faithfulness.

God is not looking for empty religion – superficial Christian behaviour centred around selfish desires and devoid of sincere love. Rather, He is looking for true and sincere faith. He wants a solid faith that is based on His revelations and consistently displayed in everything that we do and say. What steps can you take to grow your faith in truth and sincerity?

As you spend time on the couch with God, take a moment to pray and reflect on what you've read.