Who’s Image?
Read Mark 12:13-17
I rarely, if ever, handle money. I use a card or phone to pay for things nine times out of ten. It takes me a moment to get into the scene today. The focus is on taxes, and Jesus causes them to look closely at a coin. As the Pharisees question Jesus about giving taxes to Caesar, they are convinced they have him trapped. If he says to give taxes to Caesar, then he isn’t entirely devoted to God. If he says no to giving Caesar taxes, they can tell the Romans he is trying to go against them. Ironically, when Jesus asks them for a coin, someone can provide one. So much for being Holy and only focused on god. Jesus asks a straightforward question as they huddle around this coin. He asks them whose image is on the coin. I can only imagine the Pharisees acting like they had never seen a coin before and squinting like they were trying to make out the image. They knew who it was, and they responded Ceaser. Then Jesus says something so simple. “Give Ceaser what is Ceaser’s and to God what is God’s.” While this is simple, sometimes we use this as an excuse to compartmentalize our lives and don’t allow us to have control over everything. What Jesus says here is heavy. We are to give our entire lives to God because His image is written on every single one of us.
This means we are called to more than a couple hours on Sunday and fifteen minutes in the morning daily. We are called to surrender our entire lives to Jesus. We should be giving our whole day to the Lord. For the student, it means loving teachers and peers and putting forth effort to learn that would bring God glory and help them grow. For the working adult, it means showing up to work to serve their employer, clients, and co-workers in a way that shines God’s light on the world around them. For the retired adult, it means allowing their extra time to be used in ways that will enable them to share God’s love around them where they are called. And for all these faithful followers, it means surrendering everything about their lives. Instead of only giving little pockets of our lives, we are called to make every decision based on the call of our creator and savior. Instead of making choices based on our wants, we make decisions based on God’s leading. This might look like stopping our plans to spend time with someone hurting. It might also mean spending a little more time on a project at work or school that you would rather not do because God needs you to do your best work to share God’s love with your classmates, teachers, coworkers, or boss.
Pause and Pray
Is your entire day based on God’s leading?
What stands in the way of fully surrendering to God’s leading?
Lord, thank you for reminding us that your image is imprinted on us and that our lives belong to you. Lead us in giving up the things that belong to the world and live into the image you have already imprinted on us. Amen
Walk in the Kingdom
What steps will you take this week to become more aware of where God calls you every moment?