"It's All I Want"

"It's All I Want"

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, 'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.'” (Mark 12: 41-44)

As people of faith, we find ourselves celebrating the Season of Advent. It is a blessed time of the year when we recall God's fulfillment of His promise long ago to His chosen people, Israel, to send a savior. In Advent, we tend to decorate our homes and begin making lists of tasks we need to accomplish before Christmas day. 

If you open up a newspaper or turn on your television, you'll undoubtedly be met with a cornucopia of advertisements.
Manufacturers and producers want you to buy into their products. When we see so many people purchasing one product, we sometimes get the urge to match them in some way. We enjoy the concept of gift-giving; yet, sometimes gift-giving can be a difficult thing on a limited budget. It can cause anxiety in a Season that is supposed to bring so much joy.

Recently I stumbled across this cartoon (above) in an image search. I was looking for images for another blog post, but somehow I stumbled across this gem. I think sometimes we can be focused so much on the commercialization of this Season of Advent, that we fail to remember that it is not about us, but about Christ. It is about the God of the Universe humbling Himself to visit our imperfect world by becoming one of us. He didn't do it in a grand fashion, nor was He born into the lap of luxury. He was born in the most humble of conditions in order to experience all that this world has to give. 

Our God doesn't ask us for grand sacrifices or gestures, but He does ask us for one thing: our heart. He wants to make a home there. He wants us to realize that the void we have in our lives that we often try to fill with "things" each and every year can never be filled by them. The longing that we feel in the depths of our being is filled by Him alone. 

...And Jesus said "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:14)