Summoned by Name: Give Jesus your All (Part 4)

Give, and it will be given to you. Luke 6:38a

Recently my son for his 7th birthday received a generous amount of money as a gift from various family members. He was so excited! The next day, he told me that he wanted to give half of his birthday money to his older sister so they could buy ice cream together (not understanding that his money could buy several gallons of ice cream!) I marveled at his eagerness to give away what was rightfully his, and I actually had to prevent him from giving away all of his money that week!

As we conclude the Summoned by Name series on the nameless women of the Bible, our final woman also gave generously what she had in her possession. But instead of giving away half of her treasures, she gave everything.

This is the story of the nameless widow.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

This woman in the New Testament almost went unnoticed by those gathered at the temple. Many wealthy people in the crowd gave out of their abundance–she gave out of her poverty. Jesus was so impressed by her act of faith that he called the disciples over to acknowledge her generous gift (Mark 12:43).

If you have ever experienced some type of financial hardship, then you definitely understand how much faith it took for this widow to give all she had–which in the end, was more than all the others combined. What I love about this story is that Jesus saw her. Her plight as a poor widow was not overlooked by the sovereign El Roi, the God who sees.

[bctt tweet=”We are not overlooked by El Roi, the God who sees.” username=”christinbaker12″]

The story of this nameless widow goes much deeper than our wallets. Sometimes we can feel so physically and emotionally depleted that life’s hardships can leave us feeling empty and impoverished.

In times of financial famine and spiritual lack, give everything to Jesus. 

When you feel like you can’t give anymore, pour out your pennies of poverty into the hands of God. He will not only give you your daily bread, but spiritual strength and sustenance–for He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35).

When we give our thanks, praise, time and talents to the One who owns cattle on a thousand hills, He will multiply our tiny offerings in great abundance. Like the nameless widow, he sees our plight. He knows our pain. He recognizes the poverty of our souls, and he will meet our every need.

Don’t stop giving into His timeless treasury.

As we enter this Thanksgiving season, let’s remember to give thanks that Jesus gave His life to give us eternal riches in Him. He gave His all to give us everything we need for abundant life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

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