She Gave More

Reading: Luke 21; Proverbs 11 1 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” (Luke 21:1-4 NLT) The Temple in Jerusalem was a big, and very expensive operation. The priests and Temple servants were paid out of the tithes people brought, but the operating costs of the Temple itself were huge. There was the cost of water and wood for sacrifices, the cost of hauling animal skins and carcasses out to the Hinnom Valley below the temple mount, the cost of cleaning, the cost of lamps and oil and incense. It’s fortunate that wealthy Israelite businessmen respected the Temple, supported what it represented, and contributed large sums of money for its operation and upkeep.

When Jesus saw a poor widow drop in two small copper coins, the price of a small loaf of bread—not even enough for a full meal—he remarked that her offering was the largest gift he had seen all day! Actually, I’m surprised that Jesus didn’t say it would have been better for the poor widow to keep her gift for herself: “After all, she needs it more than ‘Temple, Inc.’ needs it!” Jesus said that she had given the greatest gift of all the worshippers that day because she had given everything she had. God’s accounting system is different from ours.
• The poor widow’s gift was not a comfortable portion of her income. It was all she had to live on! It was a sacrifice! God doesn’t measure the size of your gift by how much you give, but by how much you have left. • The poor widow’s gift would go almost unnoticed by the Levites who emptied the collection boxes and counted the money. It was, however, the featured gift of the day in Jesus’ eyes! The value of a gift isn’t really measured by its purchasing power, but by the sincerity of the heart that gives it. Prayer: Father, Thanks for the reminder about how the Kingdom of God economy works, and about how you see and value generosity. Help me to give generously of what I have and not worry about what I don’t have. And help me not to watch what others give and make comparisons. That’s Jesus’ job, not mine! Amen.