Detailed Application (3 Points)
1. Confirming the Owner
Who is the owner of my life?
Even while holding the coin, the Pharisees knew perfectly well whose coin it was. It was an obvious question. The image was right there on the coin. There was no need to ask.
And yet Jesus asked them that very obvious question again.
It is no different for us. When we look at our time and possessions, we often assume, “Of course, these are mine,” without stopping to ask any questions.
This week, each time you begin your day, take a moment to open your hands and look at them. Ask yourself:
“Are these hands, and is this day, really mine?”
It is about placing the question Jesus asked before us once again, right in the middle of our everyday lives.
“Today, I reaffirm that the owner of my life is not myself, but God.”
2. Finding What to Return
What do I have that I should return to God?
The command to “give back” originally meant returning something that was not ours in the first place.
We often think first of our time or money. But our attention, our love, and even a single word can also be things we give back to God.
The problem is that we often do not even stop to look for what we can give back.
This week, once a day, ask yourself:
“What can I give back to God today?”
It might be a small part of your time. It might be a word of reconciliation that you have been putting off.
Once you find it, do not put it off. Put it into practice that very day.
“Today, I will look for what I can give back to God from all that I have, and I will not put it off.”
3. Living as Citizens of Heaven Everywhere
Am I living as someone who belongs to God even outside the church?
The problem with the Pharisees was that they failed to give God what belonged to him, even in the temple.
We can be the same. We may live like Christians when we are at church, but once we go home or to work, we can sometimes live as though we are completely different people.
But heaven is not confined to the church building.
This week, think of one place each day outside the church — your home, your workplace, or somewhere you meet other people.
Then ask yourself:
“Am I living as someone who belongs to God here as well?”
“Today, whether I am inside or outside the church, I will live consistently as someone who belongs to God.”
Prayer
Loving and gracious Heavenly Father,
Thank you for creating us in your image and making us your own. We are not beings who created ourselves. From the very beginning, we have belonged to you. Help us to remember this truth once again.
Lord, we often live with calculations hidden behind words and attitudes that appear respectable on the outside. Just as the Pharisees tested you with words of praise, we too have sometimes dressed ourselves up in the language of faith while failing to open our hearts fully to you. Please forgive us for this hypocrisy.
We have also divided many areas of our lives into “mine” and “God’s”, constantly measuring what we are willing to give. We have thought that giving only part of our time or part of our possessions would be enough, while still holding tightly to the rest as though it belonged to us.
But Lord, help us to realise that our whole being was created according to your image. Therefore, we belong entirely to you.
Lord, even when we know this truth, we are still people who struggle to give ourselves fully back to you.
Yet you sent your Son into this world, and Jesus offered the life that we could never fully offer ourselves.
We remember that the cross was a life completely given back to God on our behalf.
Thank you that, because of this grace, we can still come before you with confidence today.
Throughout this week, wherever we are, help us to recognise who is truly the owner of our lives.
Help us to find what we can give back to you.
And help us to live consistently as people who belong to you, both inside and outside the church.
May the Holy Spirit who lives within us renew our strength each day, so that we may continue in this obedience.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.