Mark 12

⁴³ And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: ⁴⁴ for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

True Generosity

Sometimes with think generosity is measured in the biggest gifts.  If Bill Gates were to suddenly show up with a big fat check to help your troubles, we would probably all stand around amazed at his generosity and admire his wealth.  But yet those are not the same categories the Son of God uses to define generosity.

When Jesus saw a teachable moment in the temple, He called His disciples over to see it.  He had just gone in to see “how” they gave (v44).  “Cast” is actually the word the Bible uses, no doubt some of the biggest gives made quite the noisy racket as they were cast into the place where the money was collected.

There was a significant difference between the size and manner between the widows’ gift and the gifts of rich men who gave out of their abundance.  Two mites would hardly make a noise as it hit the bottom of the pan.  But yet the noise her generosity has echoed through the ages as Jesus captured the moment and shared it with his disciples.  God did not measure her gift by its size, but in how much was left over.  Jesus said she gave all her living.

For some rich men who are able to give large amounts, it is not an act of generosity because there is no sacrifice.  A millionaire will not miss several thousand dollars.  David understood this when Araunah offer to him his own threshing-floor without a price. But David replied,”

²⁴ And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Ultimately, we measure generosity in the cross, where our Lord gave unto He gave everything, even His righteousness by taking on our sin.   In our mission to bring the gospel of Christ to the lost world, the gospel does not come in word only, but in power and in much affliction.  We must imitate the generosity of Christ to win them over to Him. The gospel must be delivered and wrapped in generosity and sacrifice, otherwise its only words.