Scripture Reading(s)
Mark 12:41-44
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Reflections
True humility and sacrifice are marks of those who are genuine in their walk with Christ and devotion to Him. This woman came to give all that she had. She gave up her very last penny in order to show that her love for Christ comes first. This was a woman who understood what it means to have a heart filled with humility and put her needs last for the sake of following after Christ.
There can be many interpretations to this story. However, I think it is fair to say that she is an example of what it means to fully trust and love God with all her heart. Scripture does not tell us what happened to her after that. All that we know is that she acted in a way that showed she was not attached to her earthly possessions and Jesus immediately recognized that she was a woman who understood the true meaning of sacrifice.
Challenge yourself today to think of the ways in which you can act in that same humility and sacrificial heart. Jesus Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave up everything in order so that we might be saved and have an everlasting relationship with Him. Love, humility and sacrifice are reigning traits that Jesus Christ emulated for us and like this woman, that is the example we ought to follow.
When Jesus spoke He did so to make people see the deeper issue of the heart. He did not merely want people to obey the Lord out of duty but because they had their hearts in the correct place. This is why the story of the widow’s mite is so powerful. Even though people around her were giving large sums, it was her small giving that was the true gift, pleasing to the Lord.
We simply cannot please the Lord through giving large things or doing spectacular things. We must have our hearts renewed. It’s not good enough to show up on Sunday to church or to drop a few dollars in the Salvation Army bucket occasionally. We should have a heart that seeks to give and to serve God and all of God’s creation.