Devotions
Rev Gav
Giving
Luke 21.1–4
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’
Reflect
The focus of this small piece of narrative is not the amount of money that was given, but about the heart of the giver, and I am going to go out on a limb (unlike me, cough) and suggest that it is not just about having a generous heart. Yes, the woman was generous, but she exhibited a much deeper strength of character in that her security was not in the stuff she owned, nor her wealth, but in God alone.
When we align ourselves with God’s heart, we become more Godlike, see the world as God sees it, and think, feel, and behave likewise. We become aware when we are squandering that which has been given to us, whether it is our time, talents, or money, because to us, these things are not our own but belong to God.
I am reminded of the words from the Anglican wedding ceremony where the couple say to each other, “With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you,” and it is the same with our marriage relationship with Christ, and even Jesus himself prayed to the Father that ‘all that belonged to him belonged to God’ (John 17).
When that woman dropped those two copper coins into the treasury, if you had asked her if they were her coins, I wonder if she would have looked at you quizzically, and said, “No, I am simply giving back to God what belongs to God.” Therefore, let us do likewise.
Pray
Holy God
I commit myself to you.
With my body I honour you,
all that I am I give to you,
and all that I have I share with you,
within the love of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Amen.
and then