Do you know the treasury boxes in the temple were made of metal? Picture the wealthy walking into the temple with large bags of money. What an unbelievable noise it makes as they throw the contents into the boxes!
Jesus and His disciples are watching. A widow quietly moves through the line unaware that Jesus is looking at her. The disciples pay little attention as the poor widow drops two small copper coins into the box.
Jesus calls His disciples together. The show of wealth is obvious. Jesus wants them to see something very different.
“Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put out everything she had, all she had to live on.” (v 43-44)
Jesus isn’t looking at the amount the widow gave. He sees her giving as an act of worship and obedience to God. This is what Jesus asks of His disciples. The widow gives “all she has to live on.” She gives her whole life. Her heart is focused on God; what she has to offer Him.
The message is: God wants us to give what we have, through worship and obedience, whether it is great or small. We should never fail to give because we think it is too insignificant. We should never fail to do something because we think it won’t make a difference.
God is great. He can do extraordinary things with small gifts.
Read today's text, Mark 12:41-44, on Biblegateway.
No comments:
Post a Comment