give a little...GIVE A LOT

  There is a story in the Bible that i would gather most of us are pretty familiar with. The story of the Widows offering or also known as the Widows Mite. If you have never heard the story, the verses below will tell it.

Luke 21:1-4English Standard Version (ESV)

The Widow's Offering

21 Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.^{[b] 3} And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

I was reminded of this as i was reading a book this morning and felt the need to post on it. Lucky for you all, this will be short and sweet... unlike the majority of my posts. :-) 

The truth that lies in this moment in history some thousands of years ago is that it's not about the bounty or amount or price that is upon what you give to the Lord as offering. It is about the heart. It is about giving the Lord all that you have...entrusting him with your riches, be it $1,000,000 or $1. God does not expect or desire one large set sum amount from the entire population of his flock...He wants us to be willing to relent what we do have and give him all with a heart of devotion and love. 

This story was brought to life one day for me. I witnessed it with my own eyes. Actually, it was kinda like a multiple epiphany. A little over a month ago i was blessed to go to NYC on a mission trip for 12 days. One of the ministries we were a part of was an outdoor Bibleschool at a local park on Coney Island. It was not your typical BibleSchool we southern baptist people are most familiar with. It was held at a rec center in a park and rather than it being a ton of children from the church that was hosting it , it was random children and even some of their parents that just happened to be in the park or lived in that area. This majority being children and adults that did not attend church and did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. 

When we got there, i met a sweet girl who was around the age of 9. She was such a beautiful girl and had the biggest warmest smile on her face. I sat down and began to talk to her and very quickly realized that this young girl hungered for God. Her faith was much greater than my own and her heart and craving for the Word was as well. She was not raised in church but was able to come to this Bible school and she loved it. She clung tightly to what she was taught about Jesus. Honestly, my words can not describe the Spirit and Power that was upon this young girl. 

As we continued to talk, she told me about all she had learned that week in Bible school. She showed me her notebook she carried with her to write EVERYTHING down in...and then she showed me something else so precious. She showed me a bag full o

f coins. Mostly pennies but lots and lots of them. She said that every night they took up and offering and that she could not wait to give her coins to the Lord. (Me=Mindblown/Gut-punched)

As the night began and Bible school progressed, we reached the end where offering was taken up. I watched my beautiful little friend Antoinette, joyfully yet so humbly, pour her coins of offering before the Lord. You have to understand that this young girl had very little raising or spiritual leading. Not coming from a financially stable homelife, walking to the park from a significant distance away . This was not just a child bringing change their parents gave them for offering...this was a child pouring her riches before the Lord. Riches that she had collected and kept safe...riches that she did not spend on a soda and candy or music or a doll. Money she had collected and saved over time waiting for this moment to selflessly lay them before the Lord without any hesitation, second guessing or doubt. This was the widow offering her last mites. An offering that the world would look at and say "what good is that going to do?" but an offering so RICH to the Lord that He places more value on that than the $1,000,000 donation given by the Multi-billionaire.

The Lord touched a part of my soul in that moment...it felt like time had stood still for a moment and i was witnessing a happening from long ago with the Savior. As if i was actually sitting beside Jesus witnessing the widow give her mite. It's moments like this where God's Word becomes more real than ever. When TRUTH becomes alive. 

My prayer is that i would give selflessly of all that i have. That i would cherish nothing so much, that i am not willing to relinquish it and that i would cherish Him so much that i would relinquish it all...