MAGAZINE LETTER FOR MAY 2002
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Dear Friends,

In my reading and study of St. Mark’s Gospel I have just come to the well known story of the Widow who came to the temple treasury and put in two small copper coins worth a fraction of a penny. Others had been putting in far more. Jesus says that the widow put more in than all the others, because they gave what they easily could, whereas the widow gave all she had. You will find the story in St. Mark 12 v 41-44.

The thing that struck me straight away was the fact that Jesus was watching the crowd in their giving to God. This Illustrates the fact that in all our giving and doing Jesus is watching. Nothing escapes his eye. He knows all our actions and all about them.

We learn as well that Jesus not only watches our actions but also the thoughts and motives behind them. What is important to Jesus is not just the gift or the service, but the attitude of heart behind it. In fact the attitude of heart is of greater importance than the action itself.

There is no doubt that Jesus knew every motive and attitude of heart of each person who gave, and that this was the important thing to him, because he makes a judgement that is contrary to how we would have judged the situation. The widow who gave the least, in Jesus eyes gave the most, because it was all she had, and because the giving was prompted by love and faith.

There is both comfort and encouragement as well as searching and challenge in this. In all our actions, giving to God, serving God, helping others, etc., as long as our motives are right, and as long as we give and serve from genuine love for God and others, then it does not matter whether we have been able to give or do very much, because we will have given and done all we could, and will have done it willingly out of love for Jesus.

On the other hand, we may have been able to give, in time or money, a great deal. But if it is only a little of what we could have given or done, and if we had done it in order to feel we were good, or for the good opinions of others, then in Jesus opinion, at least, our giving and service would be of small value.

How encouraging this is to those who, like the widow, have little of this world’s goods. She probably came to the treasury at a time when she would not be noticed, because she was ashamed of her poverty, because even though she gave all she had, it was so little and despised in the eyes of the world. But she did give in love. Jesus noticed and commended her - this is the encouragement. The opinion of Jesus is of more value than any other. We may have little to give, few gifts or abilities, and little or no money. People may pass us by, even within the church, and treat us as of little worth; but if our hearts are like this widow’s and we do give the little we have, our reward is great in heaven.

The encouragement for us goes further. The widow probably never knew the opinion of Jesus. She probably went away, after giving her little, with a sense that she had given nothing and all the rich people were so much more regarded by God than she was; but in fact the truth was the other way around.

We may not always feel or understand the kindness of the Lord to us, but it is there. The commendations and rewards in heaven will be so different to what is expected. The prominent figure in church life who we expect to be commended and praised will receive so much less than the humble souls nobody noticed, but who gave their few 'mites', because they gave out of love and it was all they had.

But for those of us who have much to give but are not giving as much as we could, even though we may give a great deal, there is a powerful challenge. Do we care for the opinion of Jesus? My mind goes to another incident. It is the one where the Pharisee, called Simon, criticised a woman who came into the place where he was dining with Jesus, and anointed Jesus with expensive ointment, and then washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Jesus says to the Pharisee, Simon, I tell you this woman's many sins have been all forgiven. Her love for me proves this for she loves me so much. You have not been forgiven for by your actions and thoughts you show you have little love for me. This story is in St. Luke 7 v 36 to 50.

Your servant for Christ’s sake,