January 13, 2012

Home Décor

Prints of the Last Supper or Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane often adorned the walls of the homes of our parents and grandparents. When our loved ones pass away we find ourselves in a dilemma of what to do with their religious wall hangings. The prints may be worn, faded and soiled with age, but we just can’t bring ourselves to throw Jesus in the trash or send Him to the Salvation Army. Such items are often gifted to the church and then the church struggles with what to do with them while also trying to avoid hurting the donor’s feelings. As believers we give gifts to the Lord, but are they worn, faded and soiled, or are they items that we would hang in our own home?

4 comments:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----I guess that really depends on who’s giving, what’s being given, and who’s doing the appraisal. The poor widow dropping her last two mites into the Temple offering is certainly giving a far more valuable gift than a wealthy Pharisee casting two mites into it. If it were up to us, neither gift would count a lick - two mites are nothing. Being up to God, though, the mites will very well be appreciated though they still are really nothing. T Him, the condition of the poor widow’s heart was always the true value, not the mites.

Love you all,
Steve Corey

Christian Ear said...

Steve,
I agree. However the widow’s mites were of high value, because that was all she had. God sees her heart, but in this case we too can see her heart. My mind was going toward gifts that we know in our heart have no value to us. As in the difference between Cain and Able’s offering.
Gail

Steve Corey said...

Gail;
-----I've pondered a lot how much the mites may have been worth to her. I don't really know the value of mites, I mean conversion to dollars and such. But considering they were like two cents or a dime, I know if all I had were two cents or a dime I wouldn't have any qualms at all about dropping them anywhere. Ten cents does nobody any good anymore. If it bought any chow, it would be only a sniff of it. It would buy something out of a second hand store, maybe a T-shirt. But much more could be dug up out of dumpsters. Again, I don't know what two mites were worth in those days. If they were like twenty dollars, then you have a point.

Steve

Steve Corey said...

Gail;
-----Having thought some more, I know what you are saying. It isn’t whether or not the gift itself is valuable, it is whether the giver will hang it on his wall if he values it or give it to the Lord if he doesn’t. In fact, that’s what you quite simply said. I’m sorry I obfuscated a great point.

Steve