The Widow’s Mite

A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

—Mark 12:42–44

The story of the widow’s mite is about money, but it’s even more about faith. The widow gave, and she trusted that even if she gave everything, God would provide what she needed.

In Exodus, when the Israelites were in the desert, God sent manna. Some people didn’t believe that there really would be more tomorrow, even though that’s what God told Moses. They took more than they were instructed, out of fear, out of a hoarding instinct, but the food they saved became infested with maggots by the next morning. God wanted his people to trust him daily, to need him and follow him every morning with new faith. But they didn’t want to have to trust. They wanted to depend on what they had gathered, instead of what God promised to supply. Hoarding is in our fearful nature.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread . . .” We want bread for a month, for a year. We want guarantees and back-up plans. But God promises bread for a day, and then another day, and then another day. And the widow believed his promise.