Reading… and Thinking

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

— Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)

This widow could easily have reasoned, quite accurately, that her small offering would make no difference at all. What’s the point of going all the way to the temple to put in such a negligible offering? And other people might scoff at what she gave. And she might have been able to buy a little food, even if it wasn’t much.

But she made the trip, she put in her offering. And Jesus noticed. He noticed not how little she gave, but how much she gave. She gave everything.

There is nothing we can give to God. Everything is His. And yet, He does ask us to give. Our money, our time, our effort. We may feel like we don’t have much to give. We may not have a lot of money. We may not be very good at whatever work is needed. We can easily reason that there’s little point in us contributing such a puny offering.

But Jesus will notice, whether we do or whether we don’t.

He will notice how much we give compared with our ability, not how much we give compared with someone else. If we give our all, he will say we’ve given more than anyone else. There is never any reason to be ashamed of anything we give to the Lord, whether it’s money or goods or time or labor. “Your labor is not in vain in the Lord,” Paul says (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Neither is there any cause to be proud, of course. Even if we give a great deal, we still won’t have matched that widow!

So give what you can. Give all you can—your heart, your life, your labor, your love. Jesus will notice!