Appreciating the widow’s mite

Mark 12:42-44 41: And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42: And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43: And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. 

 Luke 21:1-4 1: And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2: And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3: And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. 

 Many a time, when we go to church, we look out for those who are well to do and we associate with them. The poor are neglected and relegated to the background. Their contributions are considered to be insignificant. The widow was a nonentity in the synagogue and nobody wanted to associate with her because she had nothing much to offer. But the Lord who sees the heart of men instantly notice the immerse contribution that she made towards the running of the church. Jesus noticed her genuine desire to see the kingdom of God progress in spite of her condition. She showed that nothing can separate her from fulfilling her Godly duty of help other people. This widow could say that nothing can derail her from serving God. I don’t know how long this woman has been a widow but I am certain that she may be very lonely in addition to her poverty. If she is an older lady, she may be going through menopause with all its attendant problems. 

However, she looked beyond her problems and she found joy in serving the Lord with all her might and resources. As Paul puts it in Rom:8:35-39: 35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

 Are you ready to give your widows mite? Are you ready to give to the needy? Are ready to feed the hungry? Are you ready to set the oppressed free by advocating for them? Are you ready to fight for justice? God is calling us to renew our minds about our resources. We have received freely and we have to give freely. 

 Mat 10:7-8 says: 7: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 

The sick need your help. The lepers need your help. Grieving families need your help. How can we help them? We can visit to encourage them; we can help them with buying some of the medication they cannot afford or show them the available resource in the system where they can get help; we can show them a token of our love by giving them some amount of money to take care of their immediate needs. You cannot provide all the needs of a needy individual but your sincere act of giving selflessly would go a long to ease the pain of the afflicted. Will you give your widow’s mite? Seeking out the welfare of others is an act of worship and gratitude to God. By associating with the weak, poor and lonely, our attitude and actions prove that we are grateful to God for giving us what we have. We are saying that God has blessed us with the necessary resources that other person hasn’t got and we in turn want to bless them with what He has given to us. We are doing exactly what Christ would do if he was physically present on this earth. He would not see a weak, hungry, homeless and poor person walk by and not help him or her. The weak went home strong and the hungry went home full. 

Mat 14:13-22 13: When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. 14: And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 15: And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16: But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17: And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18: He said, Bring them hither to me. 19: And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20: And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21: And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. 22: And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 

Our love for God is manifested by the acts that we commit. We have a Godly and moral duty to help those who are less fortunate than us. Jesus stated this clearly in Mt:25:31-46: 31: When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

 God is calling us to arise and actively seek out the welfare of those who are not as privileged like us. Serving God is not just fasting, going to church, worshiping and praising him with out lips, but also a call to practical demonstration of his love. He gave His son to us freely and we in turn have to give freely and willingly to others. We should not be weary of doing good just us our Lord Jesus went about doing the same. God, in Isaiah 58:5-7, spoke to the Israelites saying: 5: Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 6: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7: Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 

 When we do good to others, God looks down on our generosity and hears our cry. The multiplies what we already have so that we can continue to give more to others in need. Numerous opportunities open up for us and we become more and more prosperous. Our personal needs are met. Doors that were previously closed suddenly begin to open and heaven pours down its blessings upon us. In Isaiah 58:8-12, the Lord declares that if we show practical love to our needy neighbors, 8: Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward. 9: Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10: And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 11: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 12: And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

The widow drew out her soul and gave all that she had so that others could benefit. She gave hundred percent of her finances to God without any reservation. Her act showed that she trusted in the provision and sustenance of God. She wanted to bless others so that the doors of heaven would be opened and blessings would be rained on her. Are you in need? Give unto others from the little that you have and God who holds His words to the highest order of truth would show you His goodness. A light would shine at the end of the tunnel and you would find your way out of your situation. We don’t have to be rich before we give to the poor. We must give out of the blessings and resources that we have at any point in time.