I am looking at the story of the widow’s pennies (Mark 12:41-44). At first I thought the “moral” or “lesson” of this story was: its not the amount of the gift but the attitude of the giver that counts with the Lord. But though this is true, I wonder whether its more than that. What about the HUGE sacrifice that she was making for the Lord, compared to the token offerings presented by the rich people. Is it possible that – as this passage suggests – the Lord measures the size of our gift in comparison to the wealth of the giver, and expects everyone to give sacrificially? Consider the words in Luke 12:48.
Most people are sacrificial givers, then give out huge amounts of their wealth every day. The question is not how much we spend but WHO we spend it on. This woman could have spent her few coins on some bread, but instead she offered it for the maintenance of the temple. Hmmm, where do I spend the bulk of my money? time? energy? If the Lord compares my giving to Him with my keeping/spending for myself, what does He see?
Its not that the Lord wants my money. He doesn’t need it. He can feed thousands with a few loaves and bread and fish. But He wants my loyalty, my love, my commitment to His kingdom cause – even if it costs me! He calls me to love Him with my whole heart, soul, mind, strength.
What do you glean from this story? A penny for your thoughts?
Pastor Norm
From my NIV Notes – Mark 12:41 “the temple treasury – Located in the court of women. Both men and women were allowed in this court, but women could go no farther into the temple buildings. It contained 13 trumpet-shaped receptacle for contributions to be brought by worshipers.” I recall from somewhere (I don’t remember where) that the trumpet shaped receptacles were deliberately built to make a loud sound when heavy coins were thrown into them. There would be a great show if a rich person were to drop in many coins. I imagine when the poor widow dropped in her two very small coins, they would make only a very slight tingling sound that would be noticable in contrast to the rich offerings. I get the feeling that Jesus was noticing that some may have mocked this poor lady as a cheapskate. Jesus reveals the truth about the offering, knowing the woman’s private circumstances like the prophet he is. Even though she gave all she had to live on, I suspect this widow did not go to bed hungry that night if Jesus had a hand in it.