Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

When we first moved to Florida, I struggled with garage door syndrome. Garage door syndrome happens when people come and go in our neighborhood. We rarely get to meet them because when they leave, their garage door opens, and then they drive away. When they return, the door opens, they drive in and sometimes shut the door before even getting out of their vehicle. Suffice it to say that getting to know folks here is challenging! So, one day, upon noticing a young man across the street parking his car in the driveway, I called out as he got out, “Hey, how’s it going?” But he seemed to take no notice and instead just walked into his house. I know I have quite a loud voice, because people occasionally have to tell me to tone things down. I just couldn’t understand why I was being completely ignored, and as I walked back inside, I mentioned to my wife, that the young guy on the other side of the street was really rude, because he never even turned his head when I had called out to him. Nancy quietly listened for a moment, then with a gentle smile she replied, “Did you know he is deaf?” Wow! In one second, I went from being outraged at the lack of manners in young people, to being ashamed of my silly complaint. My problem was that I didn’t realize that as a lip reader, our young neighbor needed to see me, because He listened with his eyes. In today’s verse Jesus was also listening with His eyes. Everyone else simply observed all the rich guys: the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos of their day putting big offerings into the temple treasury. But Jesus was not looking at shekels, He was watching hearts. So, when this widow who went unnoticed by everyone else, put her offering in, Jesus immediately stopped everything to point her out to His disciples. All day long people had given what they could, what made sense, what seemed reasonable, but not this lady. No! Jesus said that her gift was all she had to live on, at least for that day. Probably this was the money that would have bought her dinner, but she offered it anyway and went hungry in order to give. This scene challenges me when I think of my own choices in giving. Now, God’s word also tells us to give cheerfully, not out of guilt or necessity. But this widow’s example makes me pause to ask, “What is preventing me from cheerfully giving like this woman? What barrier do I have, that keeps me from giving all? All my time? All my energy? All my finances? Am I just giving from a position of abundance, or does it cost me something, and can I still give it cheerfully with a smile?”

I hope you will enjoy this five-minute video from our Friday morning service at Life Care Center. In it I also give just a peek at how after thirty plus years of weekly meetings, God has continued to draw me back to worship with my brothers and sisters in long-term care. Have a blessed weekend everyone!