August 29, 2021: "I Belong: The Widow's Mite"; Luke 21-1-4

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty.

At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.

Many of the founding Fathers in our country had nothing left when the war was over. But by finding their freedom and birthing a new nation, they gained everything.

Just like the founding fathers of our country, the widow’s mite is the story of a lady who gave it all up in order to gain so much more.

I invite you to stand for the reading and the hearing of God’s word this morning:

Luke 21: 1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

And may glory be to God for the reading and the hearing of His Word this morning, “Thanks Be To God.”

In order to understand the Widow’s Mite in full detail, it needs to be put into context.

It lies directly between the Warning of the Teachers of the Law and The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times. That’s some pretty exciting stuff, isn’t it?! The teachers of the law wore the correct garb around town, and yet Jesus tells us that they “devour widow’s houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.” They talk the talk, but didn’t walk the walk.

Just after the Widow’s Mite, Jesus says, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am He,” and yet that will not be. These people will persecute faithful believers and cause havoc. Again, they talked the talk, but did not walk the walk.

As we come into the narrative of the widow’s offering, Jesus observed that as the widow’s high society, Jewish counterparts dropped their coins into the temple coffers, the coins made a loud clanking sound as they hit the bottom of the metal boxes. Thirteen trumpet shaped containers lined each side of the temple court. The containers were labeled as to how the money would be spent. Seven of the containers were for the temple and six of them were for free will offerings; people just gave what they wanted. This was what Jesus was observing. People dropped coins into the offering boxes and waited for the clang of striking metal while looking around to see if anyone else was listening and watching. They gave, but it was out of their excesses, not their sacrifice and they cared what others would think of them.

Everyone besides the widow put in a lot, but yet they didn’t miss it; the temple priests were proud of the big givers for what they had done and gave them preferential treatment but Jesus was unimpressed with them. What made an impression upon him more than any other person in the temple that day was this widow who gave more than all of the others combined simply because she gave out of her poverty and not her wealth. While she would dearly miss the money that she put into the Church coffers, it was more important for her to store up treasures in heaven where thieves could not steal and moths could not destroy.

In Jesus’ day, widows were the poorest of the poor. They had very few ways to make money. They might cook, clean, or mend someone’s clothes. This poor widow literally had nothing. And yet she managed to scrape up two copper coins, the equivalent of 1/64 of a days wages. If she were to make minimum wage, a mite would be close to the equivalent of 91 cents in today’s money, or roughly a little less than two bucks total. Try buying a gallon of milk or gas, a loaf of bread, or even a coke from the convenience store. We cannot do it, can we?! And yet, that was all that she had to sustain her.

It was more important for this widow to put her trust and devotion into God than to worry about what others were doing or what she might miss out on. She had nothing to begin with, but what little she had she gave to God so that she could gain everything.

Aren’t we all often overly concerned with what others think as opposed to what God thinks about us?

From an early age we work to get approval, whether it is proving to our parents that we can ride a bike without training wheels, or taking our first step—caring what other people think about us seems inevitable. Worrying about what others think is human, but when it’s to a point where our joy is being choked, then we need to become proactive, not reactive in addressing it. Every time we are worry about what others think we should switch to a scripture, prayer or praise. I challenge you to say the following: “I trust the God of the Bible and not just my feelings.”

Next time we are worried about what others think, it is the time to give it to God… to LET GO AND LET GOD. That’s what worship as a lifestyle is all about. The widow offered the totality of her life to God in worship through her two copper coins; God is challenging us to do the same… to give Him our all— with our only care in the world being what He thinks. When Jesus came up out of the water at His baptism, God said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy!” (NLT) And, that’s how he feels about every one of us! God says to us, “You are my loved child, and you bring me great joy.”

Who cares what anyone else thinks?!

If that were not enough, God unexpectedly and repeatedly uses the little things and little people of this world to accomplish His big purposes in the world.

a. Joseph, a man of little reputation amongst his brothers (who coincidentally would go on to become the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel), saved the world from starvation by listening to God.

b. Gideon had a little army, not because he wanted his army to only be 300 against 135000, but because ordered him to do so. Originally, Gideon was going to fight the 135000 Midianites with 32,000, but God asked Gideon to reduce the size of his army. Gideon believed in God to deliver the victory, and his little army won the day.

c. David and Goliath is the story of a little guy with little weapons. Goliath had a spear and a sword. But David had 5 smooth stones. Goliath was around 9 ft tall while David was probably no more than five feet tall. David had faith in God to deliver the victory, and David triumphed.

d. Even with Moses’ stutter, with the help of God, he delivered the Hebrews from the Egyptian captivity and led them and began their journey towards the Promised Land.

e. Bethlehem was a little place and an insignificant location. Micah 5:2 tells us “You Bethlehem . . . you were little among the earth” (Micah 5:2). And yet Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem. God chose that little place to bring our Savior into the world.

f. As it pertains to the widow, there were a lot of heavy hitters with more money, but it wasn’t all about the money. It was about the physical provision of her gift matching up with her inner love for God. Her ability to put more money in did not matter as much as the fact that she gave her all because of her devotion to and love for God.

It leads me to believe that bigger is not always better. Sometimes it’s okay to be little! Maybe we worry more about how to be little. In John 3:30 (NIV) it says, “He must become greater, I must become less.” It’s that largely paradoxical thinking that allows us to experience life to the fullest as we have faith in God— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In addition, in the widows mite, we should focus less on the coins that rattled their way to the bottom of the collection plate and more on the love that this woman had for Him.

When she gave, it was an outward expression of a deep inner love that she had for God.

It reminds me of Mary and Martha.

Luke 10:38-42 (NIV) tells us the story...

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was concerned with being a good hostess and providing for her guest. Mary simply wanted to sit in the presence of the Almighty and to please Jesus… God in human form.

For Mary was less about physical provision and more about nurturing her inner love for God by being in His presence. It was the same for the widow. The gift didn’t make sense to humans. But to God, it was the greatest of all gifts because her sacrificial gift indicated that she was choosing her relationship with God above all else.

It is a reminder for us to choose God first, above all else today… then everything else will be added as well.

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart as I pray it out loud.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Closing

If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.

Remember, you have a special place in the Kingdom of God. Just like the widow, you belong.