What Is God’s?

What Is God’s?

Read: Mark 12:13-17

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Mark 12:17

“I feel that if I could live a thousand lives, I would like to live them all for Christ.”

—Charles Spurgeon

IN WORD This is one of Jesus’ most memorable (and quotable) statements. We are amazed at His sharp answer and His ability to elude the traps set for Him by the Pharisees and Herodians, just as His listeners are noted for being amazed at the end of the verse. We often apply this text to distinguish between our secular responsibilities and our devotion to God. Jesus clearly upholds our obligation to pay taxes and support our government. We are to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s without the guilt we might otherwise feel for investing in an earthly kingdom. But the second half of His statement begs a question we rarely answer. We are to give to God what is God’s. But what exactly is that? What, by Jesus’ definition, is God’s?

Everything. It is clear from the whole of Scripture and from the specifics of Jesus’ teaching that everything belongs to God. Even our taxes, which He tells us to give to “Caesar,” are His—we give them with His permission and blessing. But even Caesar’s treasury is under God’s sovereign domain. So is our home, our family, our career, our possessions, our interests and hobbies, our ministry, our relationships, and anything else we can think of. So when Jesus tells His disciples what He expects of them, He has every right to ask it.

We would do well to notice what Jesus, our authority, asks of His disciples. He insists on (1) their love of God and each other—those are the greatest commandments, He says; and (2) their allegiance—to the point of leaving all behind and following Him even to death. He expects all who claim Him to be zealously, passionately His.

IN DEED Far too frequently, we focus on the first half of Jesus’ wise retort in verse 17 and miss the second half. But it is the all-important emphasis. Give to God what is God’s— your heart. Your life. Your everything. Keep no corner of your soul to yourself. It’s all His.