Mark 12:41-44

Mark 12:41-44  Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” 

This is a wonderful passage.  I like the fact that Jesus watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.   Jesus watched!  How important is that!  Today, Jesus is watching our lives.  He is watching how much we put into the treasury.  I am not writing about tithes and offerings here, although that is important; I writing about our lives.  How much of our lives are we putting into the heavenly treasure?  What amount of our lives are we giving to the Lord?  Are we giving out of the abundance of our lives or out of our poverty?  Are we giving our time and material goods when we are rested and when we have plenty, or are we giving our time and material goods when we don't have that much to give?  When I read this scripture, I think of my youngest daughter.  She has four little ones below the age of five--one a newborn baby.  She now has little time to sleep, rarely a moment during the day to rest, and hardly any time to herself.  Every day, she is giving out of her poverty.  Everything her husband and the little ones receive from her is out of her poverty.  

Notice, Jesus was pleased by the widow's gift.  He knew her life.  He knew she was giving all.  The story of the widow's mite is an example for all of us because it is a story of faith.  Faith doesn't necessarily give out of abundance; many times it gives out of poverty.  An act of genuine faith is giving when we don't have much to give--when we don't have the time, when we don't have the rest we need, when we lack the material goods to satisfy ourselves, or when we don't have the strength to carry on.  God see this: God sees our sacrifice.  Sometimes Christians pray that they'll have enough time, money, rest, or strength to give, to do the right thing, but that isn't faith.  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  (Hebrews 11:1)  Faith is believing and doing when we are not sure whether it will pay off for us or not.  We believe so much in God that we want to please Him first, even before our needs are met.  Pleasing God is not adding up what our lives need first and then if there is anything left over, we give it to God.  No, that is the natural man's thinking.  

God is asking us to be poured out as a drink offering.  In the Old Testament we learn that a drink offering was poured out on the altar before a lamb was to be burned as a sacrifice to God.  Paul said, For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  (2 Timothy 4:6-8)  We are to be poured out.  Sometimes, we just long to live our lives unto ourselves.  We want to be left alone.  We want to go our own way, do our own thing.  But God says, I have bought you with a high price, Jesus Christ sacrificed.  You are mine!  Do my will.  So every day, we get up and do the will of the Father regardless of how wealthy we are, how rested we are, or how much time we have.  For each us, this is what God is saying to us--"I HAVE WORK FOR YOU TO DO."