(Mark 12:41-44)
Do you remember the story of the time Jesus and His disciples visited the Tabernacle and stood watching the people giving gifts? There was this big trunk with a hole in the top. The people dropped their offerings through the hole and they made a satisfying thump in the bottom. Rich folks might pour theirs out to get a longer sound: others dropped a bag full of small coins just because it was bigger. Show-offs, every one of them. But Jesus’ eyes suddenly lit up. He watched as a lonely widow lady came up with two pennies and dropped them in, then hurried away. “Look at her!” he declared. “She has given all that she had; her gift is the largest in God’s eyes.”
Widows of the East in those days had a hard struggle just to survive. There were not a lot of jobs back then for single women. You were a girl at your father’s home, then you were a wife, and if lucky, you died in your children’s home. Women simply were not in any position to be able to make money, unless they could get work as a servant or a prostitute. They had little if any support system. The widow mentioned here was very self-conscious as she came to present her insignificant offering. She loved God, she probably went without food to get that gift to give, but she saw all the others and felt so small against the bags given by others.
The monetary value of her gift was small. We would probably just “round it off” our bookkeeping as a nuisance to keep track of. A person made a penny a day working, enough to buy a small loaf of bread and perhaps a small fish in the market to make it for one more day. She gave two day’s work. To do it, she went without something else; it wasn’t excess funds. It was all she had.
So what was her M I G H T that she should catch the delighted eye of Christ? She had long ago given herself to God. She loved God. She was glad to be able to contribute to the support of the Sanctuary. The large, noisy offerings being given at the time intimidated her but were meaningless to the givers. The offering of love and appreciation is always a standout in God’s presence. What have you given to God today?