Everything You’ve Got
[Jesus] looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. “I tell you the truth,” He said. “This poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”–Luke 21:1-4
In sports, you hear a lot about two very different kinds of athlete. One is labeled an “underachiever”—an athlete who has a ton of talent but gets by putting out the minimal effort. The other is referred to as an “overachiever”— someone who makes up for a lack of physical giftedness and athletic prowess with an abundance of hard work, determination, and drive.
In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus was identifying the people who gave “of their surplus” as the underachievers while representing the poor widow as a classic overachiever. As athletes and as Christians, we too face the same decision as the people described by Jesus. We can hold back aspects of our finances, our relationships, our possessions, and, in essence, pieces of our heart. In doing so, we will never truly live up to our God-given potential.
But as Jesus said in John 10:10b, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” To receive that perfect completion of God’s will for each of us, we must be willing to lay everything we have and everything we are at the sacrificial altar as the ultimate gift of thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for us at the cross.
1. Can you think of a well-known athlete who has been labeled an underachiever? What about an example of an overachiever?
2. Would you describe yourself as an underachiever, an overachiever, or something in between? What drives you to achieve great things? What are some things in your life that might cause you to underachieve?
3. What are some areas of your life that you might need to sacrifice for the cause of Christ? How do you think that kind of offering might change your future?
John 10:10; Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:1-2; Colossians 3:17
Lord, I want to give You everything I have, everything I am, for Your glory. In return, I freely accept Your gift of salvation and Your promise of an abundant life. Amen.
