Luke 21:1

Luke 21:1 says, And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.  Jesus looked up and saw some rich men putting their gifts into the treasury.  Evidently, they were doing it so that they would be noticed, and some rich people today want to be noticed when they are giving to the church.  Verse two adds, And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.  There was also a poor widow who gave her small donation, and Jesus noticed her also, even if most of the people may not have.  We tend to notice when rich people give something more than we do when poor people do.  We may even write off the donations of poor people as being insignificant.  God does not look at the amount of the gift, but at the attitude of the giver.  Verse three states, And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:  Jesus said 5he poor widow had given more than all the rich men combined had.  Too often, when it comes to giving to the church, we say show me the money, and give recognition to those giving the largest amount.  Verse four adds, For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.  As stated already, Jesus didn't look at the amount given but at the attitude of the giver.  Those who are poorer may often give a greater percentage of what they have than those who are better off.  Verse five says, And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,  Some people were talking about how richly the temple was adorned.  There are still people today who take a lot of pride in church buildings, sometimes spending an inordinate amount on its upkeep while being less concerned about the people around them who may be in need.  Verse six adds, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  Jesus told them that the day was coming when not even one stone of the temple would be left on top of the other.  There is also coming a day when not one stone of all the beautiful church buildings of today will be left on top of another.  Like the temple then, they are but temporary structures.  Verse seven continues, And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?  The people then asked Jesus when this would happen and what the sign would be that it was about to come to pass.  Many people today are trying to figure out when the second coming of Jesus Christ will happen.  This should not be our focus.  We should be focusing on being faithful to Jesus Christ at all times if we are His followers.