Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, July 13, 2024
Okay. Here’s a visual quiz. Take a look at the photo above. Can you spot the two coins (both of which I noticed at random on a neighborhood sidewalk)? It’s most likely that even if your screen’s photo-resolution is good, you might barely make out the penny, but maybe not the dime. Spend a few more seconds.
WAIT! Before you look at the photo below, notice the position of the sidewalk crack above. Not the straight one, but the wiggly one at the upper left.
Now, here’s the next photo:
Notice where the sidewalk crack is now. Different position, right? This means that I have shifted my angle. And now, of course, you can clearly see the two coins, a few inches above the crack. And the reason is that now the sun is reflecting off them.
One day sitting in a courtyard of the Jerusalem temple, Jesus spotted a woman who was about to drop two coins into an offering box. Let’s listen to Eugene Petersen translate the story from his The Message:
Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all!” (Luke 20:1 – 4, The Message)
Do you see what Jesus was doing? The Light of the World was shining a powerful beam which reflected brilliantly from two otherwise unnoticeable, forgettable coins — symbols of a heart which was utterly devoted to God.
So let’s remember to keep our eyes on Scripture so we can evaluate true worth—of items or people.