The Widows Mite

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

The story of the widow’s mite is one of my favorites because it teaches us much about our relationship with God. Jesus was observing people giving in the temple and noticed a destitute widow drop two “mites” into the basket. The monetary value of these two mites was less than ¼ cent. Yet Jesus commented that the value of the widow’s gift exceeded all the others because she gave all she had to exist on. Jesus saw this as a beautiful demonstration of faith. She completely trusted her Savior to provide her needs and because of that she could give out of her poverty. From a monetary perspective the others gave significantly more, but from a spiritual perspective they gave significantly less.

Mark 12:41-44 adds another element to the story. Jesus was so impressed by the attitude of the widow that He called the disciples together immediately to share with them what she had done. It was an excellent teaching moment to point out a tremendous demonstration of faith and He didn’t let it pass by. We, too, should learn from this lesson.

The lesson isn’t that we should necessarily give everything we have, but that we should hold everything we have with an open hand. If God wants anything He has provided to us back, we should be willing to give it to Him. It also teaches we should be completely dependent on Him for our needs. Paul said in Philippians 4:19 “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The widow by giving “all she had to live on” clearly demonstrated her faith in God to provide her needs. That is the type of faith He desires from us. She was one of whom God will surely say “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.”

I pray that you might have the faith of this widow and that you might also hold all that God gives you with an open hand.