The woman that Annie
taught about today is known to us as “the widow with the two coins”. Although we do not know her name, I am
certain that Jesus does. The little that
we do know about her comes from Mark 12:41-44, (the same account can be found in Luke 21:1-4).
These few verses convey an important message that Jesus wants us to take to
heart.
Our lesson today was centered
on the above verses. However, while I was discussing this post with Arlene, she
pointed out that the snapshot we see of the widow comes at the end of a long
passage when Jesus is teaching in the temple courts. Looking at what Jesus was teaching immediately
before sharing His observations of the widow, will shed some additional light
on its meaning. Allow me to set the stage: Jesus is in the temple teaching to a large
crowd. He is warning those listening
about the teachers of the law. He speaks
about their propensity to live in a way that glorifies themselves rather than
God: lives marked by pride, hypocrisy, and greed. They
exploit others for their own financial gain, even widows. Jesus says in Mark 12:40, “They devour widows' houses and for a show
make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely".
As if on queue, a widow
approaches the place where the freewill offerings were collected. What sets apart a freewill offering from the
other offerings is that it is given through a willing spirit and a stirred
heart. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). As Jesus sits and watches, He sees many rich
men donate large sums of money, drawing attention to themselves in the process. This poor widow then gives her offering
of two small coins, which were worth practically nothing. “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 12:43-44).
What a contrast! First, we see the teachers of the law. One
word can describe their actions: they took (remember, they devoured widows’ houses). What does Jesus show us about the widow? She gave. Not only did she give, but she freely gave all that she had!
Annie pointed out that there
are many ways in which we can give. What
we freely offer to the Lord is not limited to finances. We can give of our
time, our attention, our love, and ultimately, ourselves. God is not looking for the quantity of our
gifts, but the quality. The quality of our gifts is grounded in the heart with
which we give. God does not need our
things. He wants our hearts. Being able
to give freely all that we have demonstrates our faith in Him and our love for
Him. The only thing that could have
compelled the widow to give as she did was a pure love of the Lord.
Annie made another
important observation. When the widow
gave her all, she rose above mediocrity. She was not living where it was safe; where
“all the bases were covered”. She was
living in a place where her dependence on God was everything. Annie challenged us to do the same. God wants
so much more for us. He knows the
blessings that come when we are able to live a life dependent upon Him and not on
our own resources. God will do His part
but we have to choose to live by faith in Him.
One last point: the only
one who noticed the widow was Jesus. He saw her heart. His eyes were upon her. No one may know the ways in which we give our
all. We may compare what we can give to the others around us and feel
insignificant. Rest assured, Jesus sees and Jesus knows.
“So
whether you eat or drink or whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31
No comments:
Post a Comment