When the Lord Jesus Christ said, βRender therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesarβs; and unto God the things that are Godβsβ (Matt. 22:21), it was clear that He meant that the tax money they had asked Him about (Matt. 22:19) should be rendered to the king. But did you ever wonder what He had in mind in speaking of the things that should be rendered unto God?
Well, in the context of being asked about money that Godβs people owed the government that ruled over them in civil matters, the Lord was surely thinking of the money they also owed the priests who ministered to them in spiritual matters. Remember, the priestly tribe of Levi was granted no inheritance in the Promised Land, leaving them no source of income other than the tithes that faithful Hebrews had to pay if they wanted to render to God what was Godβs.
But I believe the Lord was thinking of something else that people should want to render to God. Letβs not forget how the Lord determined what should be rendered to Caesar. The penny He had asked to see (v. 19) bore the emperorβs image (v. 20), and He rightly concluded that it therefore belonged to the emperor. But by that reasoning, since all men bear the image of God by virtue of creation (Gen. 1:27; 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7), they belong to Him and owe Him the glory that historically men have refused to give Him (Rom. 1:21).
Of course, while many Christians glorify their Creator, all of them should, since we who are saved bear Godβs image spiritually as well. You see, when God saved you, you were βconformed to the image of His Sonβ (Rom. 8:29), and you βput on the new manβ which bears βthe image of Him that created himβ (Col. 3:10). So if we render money to Caesar because it bears his image, we should also yield ourselves to God βas those that are alive from the deadβ (Rom. 6:13).
In addition, your physical body also belongs to Him (1 Cor. 6:19,20), so it too is among the things that are His that should be rendered to Him. That means that while you will no doubt want to render to God financially to support the ministries that minister to you (1 Cor. 9:11; Gal. 6:6), you should also consider following the lead of the Macedonians, who βfirst gave their own selves to the Lordβ (2 Cor. 8:5).
King Hezekiah βrendered not again according to the benefit done unto himβ (2 Chron. 32:25), but in light of the endless love and amazing grace that God has bestowed on us, letβs you and I render unto God the things that are Godβs! source
