Are You Bringing Your Two Mites?

Imagine yourself in a temple filled with people coming and going. Tax collectors and religious officials are there taking money from everyone.

You are next in line.

You look down at two copper coins, both of which settle into the palm of your hand. You grip the coins tightly. It’s all you have. You have no other means and no one to provide for you. It’s all on you.

You are motioned forward, and you clinch the two coins as you step closer. You know what to do. While it’s hard to drop everything into those buckets, you know God is going to take care of you.

You believe in His promises and you trust in His plans.

You drop the coins in, a sacrifice and offering up to God. You don’t know it, but someone is watching you, and He’s about to use you as one of the greatest examples to teach His disciples what true giving to the Lord looks like.

Are you brining your two mites?

 

Jesus sees you. The Savior. The Messiah.

Out of all the people walking around in the temple, coming and going, He points you out. You. You are the one He wants us to learn from. You. The widow with two mites.

***

The widow with two mites. That’s how we know her. Her story is just a few sentences in Luke and Mark’s Gospels. I’ll admit that in the past I’ve skimmed over those words. Since this story is frequently used for messages on tithing and giving, that’s what I’ve always associated it with.

But one day, I found myself reading her story again and realized I had missed something essential. Something beautiful and eye-opening. That’s one of the many things I love about the Bible. We can read something over and over again and there is always something new to be found.

Let’s take a look at her story.

And then He turned His attention from the religious scholars to some wealthy people who were depositing their donations in the offering boxes.  A widow, obviously poor, came up and dropped two copper coins in one of the boxes.

I’m telling you the truth, this poor widow has made a bigger contribution than all of those rich fellows. They’re just giving from their surplus, but she is giving from her poverty—she’s giving all she has to give.

Luke 21:1-4 (VOICE)

***

Imagine if you were completely unafraid to tell others about Jesus.

Imagine if you pursued your God-given calling without any hesitation or doubt.

Imagine what would happen if you gave God everything you had and didn’t hesitate to do so, even for a moment.

Sometimes we’re scared to pursue our callings or our dreams wholeheartedly because we’re terrified we’ll step outside of the will of God.

Or we question if we’ve heard Him correctly. Or we doubt our talents and gifts. We start to think, “Maybe He isn’t calling me to do this.  God can’t possibly be asking me to do that.”

I wonder how different the story would have been if this woman had walked up to offer her coins, (which in actuality didn’t even add up to a penny) and said, “What can God do with this?  This is nothing.”

Just bring your two coins. Bring Your All. Give Him your everything.

I wonder how often we decide what God deems good enough.

How often do we take the very skills, talents, and God-ordained gifts He’s given us and say, “But God, it’s not enough. You don’t want this. This isn’t big enough or good enough for me to offer you.”

Let me tell you, friends, you don’t have to bring a wealth of knowledge or experience to the table.

Just bring your two coins. Bring your all. Give Him your everything.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Only God gets to deem what is enough for Him.” quote=”Only God gets to deem what is enough for Him.”]

And He’s already shown us the weight of His love for us when He gave His son upon a cross.

Don’t let fear stop you from using your gifts to the fullest to bring glory to God. And if you’re not sure what those are, ask God to reveal them to you. Ask the people around you who know you best. Discover what those gifts are and use them. Walking in the freedom of knowing our gifts and how to use them for Kingdom work is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

[clickToTweet tweet=”The moment we put a limit on what God can do in us, we give the enemy the power to hinder us even more.” quote=”The moment we put a limit on what God can do in us, we give the enemy the power to hinder us even more.”]

Using the gifts God has given us means we might have to walk them out in ways we wouldn’t think we would. It might mean walking out into the scary waters and not being sure what the next step may be. It may mean doing things we never thought we could do or serving in positions we never imagined we would.

Maybe it means finally sitting down to write that book you’ve always wanted to write or stepping up to lead the children’s ministry in your church.  Maybe it means reaching out to mentor someone younger than you.

Or maybe it means looking down at what you have, your two mites, your gifts and burdens and passions, and offering them up to God for Him to use as part of His larger plan for His children.

Though we don’t know this widow’s name, we know part of her story. And she must have been important if Jesus pointed her out. He singled her out as an example of someone who gave from her desperate place, her hard season, her “This is all I’ve got, God” heart, and showed us how He sustains us when we give Him our all.

I want to be more like this brave woman. Her offering was a sign of complete surrender to God.  He needs your surrender, too, friends.  Surrender your gifts. Your dreams. Your sin. Your fears.  Trust that He will take whatever you have and He will bless it.

Are you bringing your two mites to the table?

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