The Widow’s Two Coins

“This poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury.” — Mark 12:43

During that last week, Jesus taught every day in the temple courts. One day He sat down opposite the place where people put their money offerings, and He watched the crowd putting their gifts into the treasury.

Many rich people came and threw in large amounts of money. Some of them made sure everyone could see how much they were giving.

Then a poor widow came along. She was a woman whose husband had died, and she had very little money. She put in two very small copper coins, the smallest coins there were. Together they were worth hardly anything at all.

Jesus called His disciples over to Him.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their riches, the money they had left over. But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The rich people’s gifts looked much bigger. They made a much louder noise when they dropped into the box. People probably noticed them and were impressed.

Nobody noticed the widow. Nobody except Jesus.

And Jesus saw what nobody else saw. The rich people still had plenty left over after they gave. But the widow had given everything. She trusted God to look after her, even when she had nothing left.

God doesn’t measure our gifts the way people do. He doesn’t ask, “How much did you give?” He asks, “How much did you keep?” And He looks at our hearts. He sees whether we are giving out of love and trust, or just to look good.

You might think you don’t have much to give to God. But God sees everything you give Him, even the smallest gift. If you give with a loving heart, it’s worth more to Him than all the riches in the world.

And in just a few days, Jesus would do the same as the widow, only far, far more. He would give everything He had, His own life, for us.

Read it in your Bible: Mark 12:41–44

Dear Jesus, thank you that you see even the smallest gift. Help me to give to you with a loving and trusting heart, not to show off. Amen.