By Dave Holland
As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins… “All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” —Luke 21:1–4 (NIV)
More than once, my mother marshaled us older children into searching the house for enough loose change to buy milk for my baby brothers. After the food stamps and welfare money were gone, we looked beneath couch cushions and swept floors, desperate to find a few forgotten coins. So when Jesus spoke of a widow giving two tiny copper coins, I knew something about her world.
After silencing His critics in the Temple, Jesus lingered and watched people bring their offerings. Thirteen brass collection boxes stood nearby. As coins dropped through their openings, they rang against the metal, each gift announcing itself.
Some gave generously from their abundance. Then a poor widow stepped forward and dropped in two tiny lepta—the smallest coins in circulation, worth only a fraction of a penny. Larger offerings may have drowned out their sound, but Heaven heard them.
While everyone else noticed the amount, Jesus perceived the heart.
The wealthy gave from their surplus, but the widow gave out of her poverty. Her offering was more than money; it was an act of surrender. She seemed to say, “Lord, I have little, but what I have belongs to You.”
Jesus commended her because her gift demonstrated wholehearted trust and genuine sacrifice. Others gave what they could comfortably afford. She gave what she could not comfortably spare.
That is the difference between generosity and sacrifice.
God is not primarily interested in our money. He desires our hearts. Yet our giving often reveals what our hearts truly treasure.
The Lord taught me this during one of the darkest seasons of my life. Following my divorce, I had lost my marriage, my ministry of twenty-five years, my home, and my financial security.
While waiting at LAX Airport for my daughter to pick me up, I reached into my pocket and found my LAST twenty dollars. Shortly afterward, a woman approached asking for donations to support a halfway house for recovering drug addicts.
A quiet voice whispered to my heart, Give her the twenty dollars.
I hesitated, then placed the bill in her hand.
Now I had nothing.
Later that day, a friend invited me to lunch. As we finished eating, he shook my hand and quietly slipped me two hundred dollars. He knew nothing about my circumstances or the woman at the airport. He was simply obeying God’s prompting. Not long afterward, the Lord opened the door for meaningful employment and supplied my needs.
God reminded me that He is faithful.
The widow’s story is not about giving everything away hoping to receive more. It is about trusting the character of the One to whom we give. God knows our needs better than we do.
Jesus still notices small acts of trust—not because He needs our money, but because He loves our hearts.
The question is not simply, “How much did I give?”
The deeper question is, “How much of myself have I entrusted to God?”
Dave Holland pastored churches for thirty-eight years before retiring in Destin, Florida. His new book, Resurrection Jesus, is now available. You can get a copy of his books from his website, DaveHolland.org, or at Amazon.com. Pastor Dave is available to preach and teach at churches and conferences. Contact him at DavidvHolland54@gmail.com.
