The widow gave her all, Jesus gave his all, how is your giving?
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Proverbs 11:24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
Lets get real, Jesus knows how much you give, how could he not see, but what he really looks for is the sacrifice that is involved. Jesus saw the rich and famous and how large their gifts were and then he saw the poorest of the poor and Jesus told his disciples that in God's economy the widow was the best giver in the temple that day.
Jesus commends those that give until it cost something and he always praises the ones that give with the right attitude. God has never been pleased with an offering given with the wrong attitude, look at the offerings of Cain and Abel, or how about King Saul when he offered the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel.
The widow's offering was an enormous sacrifice, it is a picture of the sacrifice that Jesus would soon make. He sacrificed the riches of heaven for thirty-three years, he subjected himself to the woes of the human experience, hunger, sadness and temptation were things that Jesus would not have experienced in heaven. (Luke 4:1-13, Hebrews 4:14-16)
Give like Jesus |
Philippians 2:3-5 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. |
The widow had it right, she put aside all of the things that the world values, things like happiness, comfort and security are important to most of us, but the Bible teaches us to be different, we need to hold on to these things loosely and be ready to let go of them.
Research has shown that when your income increases the percentage that is used for charitable contributions tends to drop. Just like the scene in the story of the widow, those that had the most gave the least, we tend to give less the more we are blessed.
Just before Jesus gives us his all he makes sure that we see what he expects us to give to him. I will never go broke being generous if I am generous with the right motives. Jesus wants my sacrifice but he only wants it with the right attitude.
I want to be a generous giver Lord, thank you for giving your all!
