Dive Deeper

          Two copper coins is about the equivalent of one penny. It is common to toss a penny into the bottom of your bag or to simply lose it altogether. This is because out of all the coins that we could use, a penny is the least valuable. There are easier and much faster ways to pay for things than to spend time searching for such a small coin.  But for this woman, these two copper coins, the value of a penny, was all that she had. 

          According to the standards of the world, what this woman had was nothing in comparison to what the rich were giving. They were giving large sums out of their surplus of wealth. So what caused Jesus to say that she had given more? If her offering was of lesser value, why did it mean so much to Him?

          She gave more, because she gave everything. God is not concerned with the size of our offering or the value of what we give. He measures our gifts according to the sincerity and selflessness of our hearts. He cares more about how much of a sacrifice it was to give our offering, than what the offering actually is. 

          For this woman, she selflessly gave all that she had to the Lord. She didn’t have any large sums or a surplus of wealth. She didn’t have rich gifts to lay before Him, but she did have two very small copper coins. God is not concerned with what we do not have, but he is concerned with what we do have. For this woman, in the midst of all the rich giving their gifts, she still chose to give her all to him. 

Jesus all I have is yours

Poor and tried am I

Take me as I am oh Lord

Two coins, my offering, my life 

          As she selflessly gave these coins, she was also choosing to trust in Jesus. She gave everything that she had, trusting that Jesus would take care of her, trusting that her offering meant something to Him. When we give everything that we have to Christ, we are saying that we believe He is worth it all.  Every dream, every hope, every decision, every coin, He is worth it. This woman lived out this belief and faith. 

          But she wasn’t just a woman, she was also a widow. She had already experienced the loss of a husband and probably the loss of a lot of her stability in life. But still, out of her loss and suffering that she had endured, she still chose to give.  She chose to trust. She chose to believe that Jesus would provide and she gave it all. 

You don’t look for wealth or might 

But for a contrite heart 

These two coins I give to you

I trust in you 

And offer up my all 

          This widow gave two coins, but her selfless, trusting offering was worth more than just those two coins. She was giving herself to Jesus.  In the world, there are endless things that we could give ourselves to. We can give ourselves to our jobs, our families, or our education. We can find our identity in what we do, and we can give ourselves to people around us, physically and emotionally. But the most important thing that we can do in this life is give ourselves completely to Jesus, first and above all. Paul shares the following in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,

 4 begging us earnestly for their favor of taking part in the relief of the saints – 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” 

          The churches in Macedonia recommitted themselves to the Lord and gave themselves to Him and then they gave themselves to Paul. Just like these churches and like the widow with two coins, we are called to give selflessly to the Lord above all. And He does not take our offering lightly, He does not brush it off. God delights in us when we choose to hand over our two coins and to trust in Him who is more concerned with our hearts than anything we could ever do on this earth. 

                                                                                                                                                                     Questions for Reflection:

1. What are your “two coins” in this life? What are the things that you need to surrender and give to the Lord?

2. What areas are the most difficult for you to trust to Jesus? Which areas are the easiest?

3. What does it mean to you to be selfless? Have you heard of the phrase “Die to self?” If so, share your thoughts on what the phrase means to you.