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From Heaven With Love
She “hath cast in more than they all.” The large donations of the
rich had required no sacrifice, and could not be compared in value
with the widow’s mite.
Motive gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy
or with high moral worth. Little duties cheerfully done, little gifts
which make no show, often stand highest in God’s sight. The poor
widow deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites
to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her
heavenly Father would not overlook her need. This unselfish spirit
and childlike faith won the Saviour’s commendation.
Many among the poor long to show their gratitude to God for His
grace and truth. Let them lay up their mites in the bank of heaven.
If given from a heart filled with love for God, these seeming trifles
become priceless offerings which God smiles on and blesses.
When Jesus said of the widow, She “hath cast in more than they
all,” His words were true, not only of the motive, but of the results
of her gift. The “two copper coins, which make a penny” (RSV)
have brought to God’s treasury an amount of money far greater than
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the contributions of those rich Jews. That little gift has been like a
stream, widening and deepening through the ages. In a thousand
ways it has contributed to the relief of the poor and the spread of
the gospel. Her example of self-sacrifice has acted and reacted on
thousands of hearts in every land and in every age. God’s blessing
upon the widow’s mite has made it the source of great results. So
with every gift bestowed with a sincere desire for God’s glory. Its
results for good no man can measure.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay
tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone.” The obligation itself, Christ
did not set aside. The tithing system was ordained by God, observed
from earliest times. Abraham paid tithes of all that he possessed. As
God gave it, the system was just and reasonable, but the priests and
rabbis had made it a wearisome burden.
The Pharisees were very exact in tithing garden herbs, such as
mint, anise, and rue; this cost little and gave them a reputation for
exactness and sanctity. At the same time, the weightier matters of