God sees the small things: God notes the sparrow of little worth as he falls to the earth. The widow's, near worthless, two mites couldn't possibly make a difference in the running of the Temple, prompting another lesson; it wasn't what she gave, it was that she gave. It wasn't the amount, it was the motive. Two worthless physical coins invested in the Spiritual Kingdom. Makes sense to some of us.
Speaking of little, On the occasions where our Lord was to teach, the disciples were busy shooing away the mothers and their kids ... "Lord, these kids are just a nuisance!" Jesus replied ... "let the little ones come to me", To Jesus, indeed the little ones were the future; in fact the kids were to be first in His Kingdom.
A controversial question: Does God bless irresponsible giving! It appears so. The widow is nameless. The widow is poor and perhaps had young kids. The motive of her giving remains unknown. She gave all she had in her purse.
Were I standing there watching, I would have advised her not to give her last two mites, and I would have probably given her money. The Lord didn't do either. I wonder why?
The obvious primary lesson, is by giving all she had to God, she gave more than all of the big givers combined ... She gave all, they gave a portion. Dig deeper; is there another lesson here?
Another proof that God sees values quite differently than we do. I'll be honest, this example makes me uncomfortable as it jerks my ever human logic around. This story, or example, is to be a lesson on Godly sacrificial giving, and as a Christian I'm expected to look, learn and do.
Perhaps we, as Christians, should consider changing our view on values ... to search for what really counts in God's sight.
And while we're at it maybe we should reconsider our definition of sacrifice. Was this an example of sacrificial giving? Not that her gift amounted to anything, it didn't: it wasn't what she gave that counted but that she gave sacrificially. Her gift to God, left her with nothing in her purse! Her gift placed her in the position of trusting God.
My question: Will the Lord bless her with the "nothing" she now has? Or will He bless her more than the "everything" the many other givers have?
Alas, we are so tight (responsible?) we end up being un-Godly. When God is looking for a sacrifice we reach down, deep down, searching for a mite or two to give Jesus. "Truly, these mites can really help some worthy cause."
Mark 12: 41-44 & Luke 21: 1-4
