Mark 12:41-44 – “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
A few years ago, a single friend of mine was hit by a car when riding her bike from work. She was bruised all over, sprained her wrist, and had a slight concussion. As her only mode of transportation was her totalled bike, it was difficult for her to shop. Walking to the nearest grocery store a couple of miles away was out of the question in the blazing summer heat of her region.
I knew she had a real need, but I had no idea how to meet that need as I lived thousands of miles away. And so, I put an S.0.S. out on Facebook to our mutual friends. People across the world immediately responded. Most of those who responded were not doing well financially, but they all threw a few bucks into PayPal. I sent the funds to a friend who didn’t live too far. Unfortunately, that friend became ill and could not go shopping. Enter another friend in town on business for a few days; she said she would love to help. However, she didn’t have a PayPal account. So those two arranged to meet so they could transfer our little pool of money into the right hands.
Speaking of hands, our grocery shopping volunteer revealed that she had just sprained her shoulder. As she only could use one arm for heavy lifting, there wasn’t much she could carry. Collectively, we limped our way forward. Someone heard our plight and carried the groceries we bought up to our injured friend’s apartment. She was greatly blessed and extremely thankful for our global gift.
It got me thinking about the widow mentioned in Mark 12. I pondered that story in light of our ragtag efforts to help a friend in need.
I am sure the poor widow skirted past the wealthy and the well-appointed as she made her way to the temple treasury with her small token. She didn’t expect the rich to fulfil her obligation. Although she knew the small token was so insignificant to the rich that they wouldn’t have bothered to stoop to pick it up, she took her precious coins and deposited them in the box.
I often hear people say they don’t know what they can contribute to ongoing situations in their community, church, family, or nation. They think they don’t have much to offer. They hope someone else who is better trained will come along to help. They hold on to the few pennies they have. “Someone else who can better afford to give will give,” they say.
The widow’s gift blessed Jesus so much that he drew his disciples attention to it. I am sure Jesus echoed His Heavenly Father’s pleasure over his faithful daughter! The Holy Spirit was so impressed that He inspired Mark to include her story in a gospel that billions would eventually read!
And yet, on that particular day, that widow just did what she always did – and did so without fanfare. She had no idea that her simple act of obedience would impact so many lives.
So, how are YOU going to spend your widow’s mite today?
Our final Zoom discussion group will be on August 30, 2021 at 5:00 PM MDT. Come join in. I have been blessed by the depth of discussion and even more blessed by the life-long heart connections that were made in that group and hope to do something similar again in the future.
All Bible Verses, unless otherwise noted, are attributed to the NASB 1995 version
©2021 Katherine Walden