LUKE 21:3-4 (2026)

LUKE 21:3-4

And he said: 

 “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. 
For all of them gave an offering from their abundance; 

but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”

---- my own,

It is always the poor who have nothing or almost nothing that are more generous, more giving, and more large-hearted than the richest, most powerful people on earth. It is the poor, the suffering, the outcast, the beggar, the persecuted for righteousness’ sake, who have real empathy for those who are suffering as they suffer. Often, it is not so much material things that people are hungry or starving for, but for human affection, for understanding, for a listening ear—for someone to, even for the span of a moment, really look at them and see them, listen to them, and not look past them as if they were invisible, just for a moment to be seen, to be heard, to be valued, to be considered, to have a moment’s dignity in a life that has been crushed and treated as without worth or value.

 

It is very often these people—mine—who know that God alone is their comfort, their stay, their help. Even in the midst of their brokenness and lack, they keep their gaze fixed on Me, trusting that the one who looks after the birds in the air and the flowers in the field will surely care for them. Their trust in Me would be staggering to those who sleep under silken sheets in soft beds and eat the most expensive that the world can provide. This is why whatever little the poor of this world—who often have nothing but the bare scraps to live on—will gladly give even that to Me, to God. And their reward will be great in heaven. For it is not what one gives or how much one gives but the nature of the heart that does the giving.

Look to yourself: what has been your motive for giving? Is it to be seen? Is it to feel better about yourself? Is it out of guilt? Is it so that you may receive something in return? Anything you give, no matter how great or small its value, is judged by Me according to the motive with which it was given. Live your life aware of all that has been given to you so generously, and give back with a grateful and generous heart. For it is in the measure that you give that you will receive. Give all, especially of yourself; lay down your life for your sister or brother, and you will receive, for God is a generous giver. Give cheerfully with an open heart and spirit, and it will come back to you in far greater measure.