God Wants All of You

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury,

and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury:

and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow,

and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them,

Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in,

than all they which have cast into the treasury:

For all they did cast in of their abundance;

but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

(Mark 12:41-44)

The previous verse tells us of a woman who had no husband and was extremely poor. Her entire wealth amounted to two mites. A mite is a small brass coin that is worth about 1/5 of a cent. She might have reasoned within herself: “What good can my two mites possibly do to anyone else? It is nothing compared to what the others are giving. And besides, it is all that I have.” Praise God that she did not think this way. What a wonderful example she is to us!

What can we learn from this story?

1) Godly giving comes from God’s love. This woman had a giving heart. Someone once said “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving”. This is true. I can give to someone only because I want something in return. This is what lobbyists do in Washington D.C.. Sometimes people do this at tax time. The list could go on and on. But when someone has genuine love it always results in giving and giving comes in many forms. A person may give of their time, their talent, their substance, and of many other things.

“We love him, because he first loved us.”

(I John 4:19)

2) God can use something very small to do something very great. Never think that something is not worth giving because it is so small. How many people have read the story of this poor widow woman during all of the centuries that followed her. Who knows how much has been given by others as a result of her willingness to give two mites?

“And his disciples say unto him,

Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness,

as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them,

How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks,

and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

And they did all eat, and were filled:

and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”

(Matthew 15:33-37)

3) God wants us to give all. What God wants most is our heart. God owns everything in this world, so he has no need of the material things that we possess. All that we have is simply on loan to us. When someone gives their heart (all that they are) to God, then God will use them to be his channel of giving to others.

“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”

(Proverbs 23:26)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,

which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

(Romans 12:1-2)

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and

we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

(I John 3:16)

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

(Matthew 16:25)

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)