October 11

The Widow’s Mite

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. — Mark 12:43 BSB

It’s important to pay attention to how our Lord values the gifts we offer. Just as He saw the offerings made at the temple that day and spoke about their worth, He still watches how we give and measures our gifts in the same way. It’s encouraging to know that the size of our offerings doesn’t determine their greatness or acceptance in heaven’s sight. The widow’s mite outweighed the rich man’s large contribution.

No doubt this poor woman felt her gift was so small that it barely seemed worth giving, but in the eyes of the Lord, its value was immense. There are two scales that weigh human acts and gifts. There are earthly scales, which measure in terms of money and possessions, and there are heavenly scales that weigh spiritual value. In the heavenly scales, the widow’s mites weighed more than the rich man’s coins, given with such display.

This wasn’t just because her gift was proportionally larger—she gave all she had, while the rich still had much left—but also because of her motive and spirit. She gave out of love for God and a desire to support His house, not to be seen by others. Her offering was humble and sincere, given to honor God. Her gift was large in proportion to her ability, putting the rich to shame for giving so much while still keeping so much more for themselves. Christ looks at the heart when we give, and if our hearts are right and we give out of love for God, even the smallest offering is pleasing to Him and will receive heaven’s commendation. In heaven, gifts are not measured by dollars and cents, and many large gifts may turn out to be very small in the heavenly balance.