He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4
“Jesus explains why He says the widow gave the most, when she only contributed two lepta: all those who preceded her donated their gifts out of an excess. What they gave to God cost them little. In contrast, the woman gave, not from her abundance, but from her very life. As Jesus puts it, she gave all of her life. Her poverty means that her contribution cost her in terms of life’s basics.
But this did not stop her from giving. She did not say, “I do not have enough to live on, so I will postpone my giving.” In fact, she could have given just one lepton but instead gave more. She did not give from abundance; she gave out of what she lacked, from her poverty. She could have said, “I’ll keep one lepton to be save, to have a cushion,” but she did not.
It is important to note that Jesus is not putting down the contributions of others. Rather, He is noting the woman’s great contribution, despite the gift’s small size, since the size of a gift is not always indicative of the sacrifice. In fact, it might be deceptive. Often it is the little gift that really costs. Jesus shows the disciples that it is not the number of coins, but the nature of the heart that gives them. Little gifts can be taken for granted or not even noticed, yet sometimes they are in fact the biggest gifts of all.”
Darrell L. Bock in Luke, volume 2 (BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996) 1646-1647.
As I continue to explore the theme of “abundance” this year as it relates to Christian generosity, Jesus gets our attention with His remarks in today’s biblical text.
We realize that giving out of abundance is not the giving He celebrates. Jesus cares not so much about how much we give, but rather He looks at what we keep for ourselves.
He sees the sacrifice of our little gifts. That really encourages me! Many of us, who have minimal financial resources but still give richly, can take heart that Jesus sees and smiles.
So, as you head to church today with your little gifts, take heart. To Jesus, they are not little. Though we may feel like our gifts are small, if they represent sacrifice, Jesus rejoices!