A Poor Widow’s Gift

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Scripture: Luke 21: 1-4 (NIV)

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Devotion:

            In this passage from Luke’s gospel, we see a poignant scene. Jesus sees what God sees in the giving of gifts in the temple. He knows what is in the heart of each person giving to the work of God through their offering. Our Lord still knows what is in our hearts as we give our money for his work through the church. It is a sobering thought. How will we be judged by God in relation to our giving? Do we give of our time and talents in addition to our cash? These questions are good questions to ask ourselves every so often. If the answer is convicting, we must change.

            The poor widow is a model for what our giving is supposed to look like. Most Americans are willing to donated some of their money to a worthy cause. However, most of us do not give until we feel the financial pain. In this country most people are rich enough to have some amount of surplus each month, and we give out of that surplus just like the rich people in our scripture. Most people do not give their whole surplus and even more than that. We do not like to feel financial pain. In fact, we do not like to be in any kind of pain at all.

            While giving to the Widow’s standard is not possible for most of us who have families to take care of. We are to be as generous as possible. Since God loves a cheerful giver, our giving must be in that vein. Some will say that they cannot be cheerful givers and give sacrificially. God says that the acceptable gift is at once cheerfully given and sacrificial. (2 Corinthians 9:7) We must give out of the generosity of our hearts. Like the widow in today’s scripture, we must make the sacrifice to receive the blessing. Now let us make a sacrifice of prayer to our Lord.

Prayer:

            Lord of all we thank you for accepting our gifts. We try to be generous with what we give to you each time we give. Help us to see our gifts the way you see them. Teach us to be cheerful and generous givers. Help us to give not only of our money but also of our time and talents to your work in the world. May our lives be an offering to you every day. Thank you for the widow’s example, may we seek that kind of generous spirit each day. Amen.

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