Shalom,
We are going to learn how to understand God's will and to realize that His plans are far beyond our understanding. Therefore, let us surrender to the Word of God which educates and directs us to eternal life after death. May The Holy Spirit help us be grateful in any condition even though it is not easy because generally we are thankful only when He answers our prayers.
What lesson could we receive from the verses in Luke 21:1-4 about “The Widow’s Offering”? “When Jesus looked up, He saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury and He also saw a certain poor widow putting in two mites; so He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."
It was not the first time Jesus entered the temple. But this time He watched people bringing their gifts into the temple treasury. He did not want to miss an excellent opportunity to educate us about bringing offerings through a poor widow, who was not cared by anybody. After writing this story related to money, Doctor Luke wrote about Judas Iscariot’s plan to sell his Master for thirty pieces of silver (Luke 22:4-5; Matt. 26:15).
Take note that every verse written in the Bible must have a purpose meant to teach us something, so let us not hastily use verses to judge other people. So did Jesus. He did not judge the attitude of the rich people who put in their offerings; He only watched them.
What lessons can we learn from this poor widow's offering? Does her attitude determine her entry to heaven? Of course not! Sometimes it is easy for us to be trapped while reading verses, especially those related to money. For example: when we tithe, we immediately associate it with the promise in Malachi 3:10 and expect our blessings to be multiplied.
Take heed, God sees what our purpose is while worshipping Him. Pure religion without blemish before God is when someone could keep a tight rein on his tongue and look after orphans and widows in their distress, and keep himself from being polluted by the world (James 1:26-27). It turns out that the writer of the book of James rebuked the rich who lived in luxury and self-indulgence, and even cheated their employees (James 5:1-6). Since the Old Testament, widows and orphans have received significant attention from God (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18).
Back to the rich people who put their big amount of offerings into the temple treasury. Do you think their large amount of money could guarantee his ticket to heaven? No, for sure, they still have a lot of excess money compared to the amount of money offered.
Lesson: How little or how much we give, we should sincerely say that we have not given anything and have not given our whole life yet to Him. Do not worship God only with the intention to get more blessings! We should learn from the poor widow who offered her only two very small coins out of her poverty, which means giving all she had to live on. Jesus considered her as the person who sacrificed her entire life which is far better compared to many wealthy people who sacrificed from their excess. Therefore, we, as people who have been richly blessed by the Lord, should not think that we have given the most. Also, do not discriminate when giving, such as giving small amount to widows but sacrificing a big amount for God's work in order to be seen and to gain praise from others.
Jesus called His disciples to tell them that the poor widow had given more than those who put their big amount of money in the treasury (Mark 12:43). Aren’t we God's disciples who want to please Him? If we realize that, then we should always have this in mind: eternal life cannot be bought by wealth nor by all the charity we have done. Instead, salvation can only be given by His grace (Eph. 2:8). When we share blessings and donations to others, let us ask ourselves whether it really comes from the depth of our hearts or not?
A widow is a woman who has no longer a husband/the head of the family to take care of, so she actually deserves donations and attention from others; but instead, this widow who lived in her poverty, surprisingly gave all she had. And Jesus appreciated her offering very much.
Application: We do not need to show off in giving offerings, instead, we should be willing to offer our lives because a large amount of money does not guarantee our salvation and eternal life, but our life offering does. We are often lulled by human’s praise and flattery which unknowingly destroy our spiritual life. Therefore, let us not manipulate God's Word and use His goodness for our glory. Only Jesus can value someone’s sacrifice. This poor widow expected nothing in this world, she even offered the last money she had. It is not written how her future life would be, and we do not need to worry about it. How about us? Honestly, we often expect our godliness and service to be appreciated by others.
Many churches were springing up majestically, but there was one pagan church that was very poor; it was the Macedonian congregation, which was severely tested in various tribulations, but their joy overflowed. They were rich in mercy (2 Cor. 8:1-2). It is conceivable that they were willing to sacrifice beyond their capabilities even though they were in suffering! (v. 3). They could give offering not because their hearts were kind but because of God's grace. They gave themselves first to God and then to others (v. 5). They even helped raise money for the suffering Jews in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 9:4).
Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian churches that were previously poor, then were blessed to be rich to fulfil their promises and to give willingly (2 Cor. 8:9-11).
Application: We should make sacrifices because He has given us life and riches. Let us always remember that Jesus has given His whole life for us. Honestly, we have not yet given our lives completely. We should not act like the wealthy young man who failed in following Jesus because his riches had bound him (Matt. 19:18-22). Rather, follow the example of the poor widow who, without a word, had given her whole life.
What about Judas Iscariot after getting 30 pieces of silver? He realized his wrong doings and regretted, but it was too late. He then threw the silver coins into the temple, left them there, and hanged himself (Matt. 27:1-5). But, since it was “blood money”, the product of corruption, extortion and theft, it was against the law to put it in the treasury (v 6). For this reason, let us not be playful with our heart’s desire like Judas Iscariot, whose heart was controlled by evil spirit. Do not follow Ananias and Sapphira’s deed as well, who secretly hid part of their offering, which then caused their instant death. (Acts 5:1-10).
Finally, we know which kind of offering is acceptable to God. We could not value other people’s offering by seeing how much they give as God does not see the big amount of money you give. He rather appreciates how great the desire of our heart while bringing our whole lives to Him because the salvation of our lives does not depend on the big amount of money and possessions we have, but only on His grace. Amen.