Luke 21:5-11
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Recall the pure act of worship of the widow in our last passage as you read Luke 21:5-11.
In contrast to the widow whose singular focus was to worship God, many in Israel had drifted into idolatry where the temple was concerned. After the destruction of the original temple around 586 BC, this temple had been rebuilt and expanded by none other than Herod the Great, the father of King Herod. It was a magnificent structure that dazzled the eyes, and it was the center of first century Jewish life. For many, the temple itself had become more important than the God of Israel.
But the building was just that – a building. And around 40 years after Jesus’ prophecy, the Romans would literally take this magnificent edifice apart stone by stone.
Stop to center yourself in the presence of Jesus. Consider asking him whether there might be anything temporal that has become too important to you. If something comes to mind, share your thoughts, feelings, and even your reservations openly with Jesus.
Read Luke 21:5-11 again
Biblical prophecy can be understood as God communicating to humans through a person to encourage, explain, warn or predict, and prophecies can refer to the present time of the prophet, the future, or the far future. Because God is not limited by linear time, prophecies often move between these perspectives - this is certainly the case with Jesus’ prophetic words in this passage.
We live in the time between the incarnation of God (Jesus’ first coming) and the time when Jesus will come to earth again to restore all things to God’s original design. And though many of the events in this passage came to pass in the decades following Jesus’ death and resurrection, we still see wars, natural disasters and even plagues in our own day. We also see leaders who offer promises prosperity and “peace” through allegiance to their regimes and ideologies.
Throughout time, it is crucial that we keep the main thing the main thing. Those who claim to follow Jesus worship him and him alone. He is the stone that holds all things together.
For the final moments of this time of reflection, meditate again on these words written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae:
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.” – Colossians 1:15-17
What might Jesus be saying to you today?
How will you respond?
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