Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, provided by Pastor Doug Tritton, was first posted on June 12, 2015.  A graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), Doug is the UC site pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Philadelphia. 

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Where My Security Lies”

1 Kings 7:48-51

So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple. Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

Look at all that gold—the gold altar, golden table, gold lampstands, etc. So much gold was used in the furnishings for the building. Right now, gold trades for about $1200 per ounce, and certainly these furnishings were many, many ounces; so in all likelihood, the furnishings alone were worth perhaps up to a billion dollars in today’s currency. Yet, this was not gold being used for buying and trading, or for strengthening the Kingdom of Israel; it was used purely for the purpose of worship.

This reminds me of the story of Mary, who anointed Jesus’s feet with expensive ointment (see John 12:1-8). Mary could have sold that nard for a good sum of money. Likely, it was a precious possession of hers, to be used at a precious time. But, no, she chose to use it for Jesus, to use it in worship. She valued Jesus over the ointment; He was worth more to her than the ointment.

This challenged me because I can easily get caught up in the need for security, setting boundaries on how much I am willing to give to Jesus, whether it be my time, money, or something else. Yet if Jesus were my treasure above all else, I would gladly give up anything for Him because He would be worth more than anything else. Israel was quite extravagant in giving gold for the Temple furnishings, and Mary was quite extravagant in anointing Jesus with the ointment, but how extravagant am I willing to be for God’s Kingdom? How much am I willing to give? 

Reflect today on your own extravagance. Perhaps there has been a nagging feeling in your heart, a feeling that God is calling you to lay something at His feet. Perhaps today is the day to be extravagant and bold for Him.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your extravagant love for me. You put up no boundary in coming for me, but rather gave up Your own life on the cross. I pray now against my insecurities, my doubts that hold me back from giving extravagantly to You. Help me to truly value You above all else, for You truly are that pearl of great price. May my whole life be given as worship to You. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 46-47