JESUS WATCHES OUR GIVING
Jesus sat near the Temple collection box so that He might watch who was giving and how much they were giving. He did this to teach a lesson to His disciples. As they witnessed the rich tossing handfuls of coins into the Temple treasury, the heavy coins made a loud metallic sound as they rattled down the trumpet-like opening of the collection box. Surely everyone nearby could hear when the rich gave. Then, a poor widow carefully dropped in two small coins. They barely made a sound as they rolled into the treasury.
Christ’s teaching on this scene was that while the rich seemed to be giving a lot, it was in fact only a tiny part of their surplus. But the poor widow quietly gave all that she had. Jesus took notice of the widow’s gift not for the amount, but for what it cost her to give it.
Yet, there is another lesson here that Christ gave not by words, but by behavior. Christ is interested in our giving. He watches our generosity. He cares about our giving, how much we give and what motivates our giving. Therefore, when we give, we shouldn’t care whether others are watching, only that Jesus is watching.
PRAYER: Dear Father, You are so generous and giving to us. Thank You for the many blessings. Everything we have, You have given us. Help us to respond by giving back to You and being a blessing to others. We want to be generous like You. In Jesus’ name, amen.