Luke 21

“He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.  ‘I tell you the truth,’ He said.  ‘This poor widow has put in more than all of them.  For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she has to live on.’” Luke 21:1-4 (HCSB)

On my first visit to Israel, I bought my wife a silver ring.  At the center of the ring is a small copper coin called a “widow’s mite.” The coin is about the size of a child’s pinky fingernail.  It is ludicrous to believe it carried any value.  It is made of the least valuable metal and is so tiny.  Still, Jesus considered this widow’s offering of most significant value.

Times have not changed much since Jesus’ day.  We still live in a culture that values quantity.  The more expensive stuff we have, the wealthier we are considered to be.  

But God values quality over quantity.  In other words, the one who gives the “most” is the one who sacrifices the most.  If you have a million dollars to spare, yet you only give $1,000, then, by Heavenly accounting, the person who only had ten dollars to spare, yet they gave it all, gave the most.  

Sometimes, it is easier to write a check than to roll up your sleeves and join in the work, especially if everyone applauds your donation’s size and envies your lifestyle.

It is not for us to judge another person’s level of sacrifice.  That is the Lord’s role.  God weighs the hearts of men.  Judging the intent of a rich person’s offering is as bad as judging the value of a poor person’s gift.  Giving is a matter of the heart more than a matter of the wallet.  Only the Lord can judge the innermost parts of the heart.

We give to the extent that we trust Him.

What if God required everything from us?  That’s precisely what we owe Jesus.  Everything.  That’s exactly what the widow faithfully gave.  

To quote the old hymn, “Jesus paid it all.  All to Him I owe.”