Do you ever feel that you are unimportant?
That no one ever really knows or notices you?
Do you wonder if your simple offerings of faith and devotion, your heartfelt expressions of love for God really matter?
I do. Often. A couple of days ago, I was really bothered by those vexing questions and unable to silence them with my usual tactics. Instead, I had to deliberately make time in my extremely busy schedule to sit at His feet in prayer about them, rather than talking to Him, while I worked on whittling down my to-do list. It was time well spent.
In my mind, I heard “The widow’s coins,” so I got up and got my Bible and opened it to Luke 21:1-4, and read. As I read those four short passages, in my imagination, I stepped into that Gospel scene and watched the events unfold.
Abigail gathered her few things and tidied up her simple dwelling. It wasn’t much, just a room attached to a larger house that a kind relative had provided for her. Since her husband had passed away after a long and happy marriage, she was at the mercy of friends and family, and the elements. Still, she was thankful for each and every day for good health and for enough provision to survive. She was a daughter of God, and He would always care for her. Abigail was grateful.
Today, though, she had a dilemma. Her food box was empty, and her purse was almost empty. Two mites were all she had and today was Temple Day, the day she devoted every week walking to nearby Jerusalem, praying in the Temple, and making her offering.
Two mites? That was barely the price of the simple food that she needed to survive another week. She usually had more, but the little jobs she did — watching the children, simple housecleaning, and the like — hadn’t materialized, and she found herself, well, with two mites. Gazing into the void that was her purse, she sighed as she thought, “No worries. My Heavenly Father will provide. He always has and He always will.”
Gathering her shawl and the nearly weightless purse, Abigail set out for Jerusalem. It was a 20-minute walk for a younger woman, a ten-minute run for a youth, but at her slow pace, it took all of an hour. But to sit and pray in the presence of God in His house, well, that was just plain heaven on earth and thus it was well worth whatever effort was required.
Making her way down the dusty roadway, Abigail smiled as she approached the City of David. So busy. So grand. It was always stimulating to be among the multitudes who came and went in this metropolitan capital city. To be surrounded by His people — her people — as they went about daily life. It always made her thankful to be among God’s chosen.
Abigail went into the courtyard of the Temple and found a quiet place, in a corner, out of the way of the priests and Levites as they went about their daily duties. The hours passed by unnoticed. She herself was unnoticed; she was merely a simple poor woman in prayer.
Finally, reluctantly, it was time to go. Abigail had to start now if she was going to make it home before nightfall. Gathering her purse and her shawl, she made her way through the crowd to the offering bowl. Waiting patiently in line behind the well-fed and well-dressed Pharisees, she began to feel a bit self-conscious as they made a show and clatter of dropping their gold and silver coins into the shiny brass bowl. She had next to nothing and they had so much. For a fleeting moment, a thought that could have only come from the tempter crossed through her mind: “Keep it! Stay alive! They won’t miss it and no one will blame you! After all, these men are important, you are not. They give so much and you’re going to put in those two paltry coins and be a laughingstock.” Pushing aside the momentary seduction, Abigail came to the bowl, placed the two mites over the rim, released them, and turned to go.
Head down, she made her way out of the crowd and towards the exit. After a few steps, she looked up and saw a group of men staring at her as they listened to their Teacher. The Teacher looked at her and smiled, and Abigail’s heart stopped. It was a moment that she’d never forget. As His eyes locked on hers, Abigail felt Him look deep into her heart. Abigail was overwhelmed with the depth of love that looked contained, a love like she had never known.
His smile wrapped her up in an invisible embrace that was more real and more soul-satisfying than any embrace she had ever felt. The reality of the moment held her captivated, rendered helpless by the smiling gaze of this perfect stranger.
Then Abigail heard Him say: “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
Abigail was transfixed. The eyes, the voice, everything about Him was almost as though from another world. Not wanting to move on, she finally realized where she was and who she was, thereby dropping her gaze and pulling herself away. However, in her heart, she stayed. The smile, the eyes, and the voice she hid away, deep in her heart. All the way home, Abigail was oblivious to the path and the other travelers on it. The rest of the evening, lying in her bed, until the day ended in the darkness of sleep, she savored the moment of invisible embrace over and over.
I opened this writing with three questions:
Do you ever feel that you are unimportant?
That no one ever really knows or notices you?
Do you wonder if your simple offerings of faith and devotion, your heartfelt expressions of love for God really matter?
They do. The One who notices every sparrow in the forest and every flower on the mountainside, notices, knows, and delights in your gifts, and in you. Every thought in your head and desire of your heart, He knows. Your simple acts of love and sacrifice are all received, treasured, and rewarded.
Simple means nothing to the One who holds the complex universe in the palm of His hand. A grain of mustard seed faith moves mountains. All gifts are regarded, all are received, all are rewarded, and all have the power to bless and change the world. It’s not the size of the gift that matters, but the heart that does the giving. After all, it was through the gift of one simple “yes” said in love and faith from a teenager in Nazareth that God changed everything.
Are you ready to step into the space next to His feet and simply be with Him so He can fill you with His presence? Are you ready to let go of desiring to be known and noticed by humans and concentrate on the One who loves you unconditionally? Are you ready to just be loved with a love so fierce that He didn’t even spare His own Son for you?
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