“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” – Mark 12:42-44
It is good to have here our Lord’s estimate of earth’s gifts. We know that as He saw the offerings that day, and spoke of their worth, so He always beholds how we give, and always weighs our gifts in the same balances. It is most cheering to us to note that it is not the earthly size of our offerings that makes them either great or acceptable in Heaven’s sight. The widow’s mite outweighed the rich man’s heavy coins.
No doubt this poor woman felt that her gift was so small that it was scarcely worth while to give it; but in the eyes of the divine Lord its value was very great. There are two scales weighing all human acts, and all human gifts and offerings. There are the earthly scales, which weigh in ounces and pounds; and there are the “balances of the sanctuary,” which weigh spiritual values. In the latter scales this widow’s mites weighed more than the great glittering coins of the rich which were given with so much ostentation.
This was not only because her gift was proportionally larger — the rich still having much left after giving, and she having nothing left — but also because of her motive and spirit in giving. She gave because she loved God’s house, and wished to do her part in maintaining its ordinances. She gave humbly, not to be seen of men, but to honour God and win His approval. She gave also largely according to her ability, putting to shame the rich men who gave so much and yet had riches left. Christ sees into the heart while we make our offering; and if our heart is right, and we give as we are able, and give out of love for God and desire for His glory, even the smallest offering that we can bring will be acceptable in God’s sight, and will bring down heaven’s commendation. Gifts are not estimated in heaven by dollars and cents. Many a million gift is exceedingly small when the angels weigh it. – J. R. Miller
It’s important for us to understand that our lives matter. God has a plan for each of us and a child of God in the will of God is the very picture of success – regardless of how he compare to others. God measures our gift by the amount we have left, not the amount given. She gave more than the others because she had nothing left. Guess who will receive the greater reward. It is interesting that she loved the Lord enough to give all, yet she had the least. Those who gave less than all had more. This reminds us that God is good to the unjust.- HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
