The widow shows the way

Mark 12:28-44

Love God. Love people. This is the heart of what God would have for you.

But how do we love the God whom we do not see? Well, God has made it easy for us. He shows us himself in the needy around us. He shows up with those who have little.

The widow shows the way.

It’s no secret that people who have more give proportionally less away. And the opposite is also true: The less you have the more it seems a person is willing to give. This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on the surface. I mean, if you have less you value what you have more—this much is almost certainly true—but why then does a person who has less also tend to give away more? Shouldn’t valuing a thing lead to holding it more tightly? And same for the wealthy person. Shouldn’t their wealth make their money less valuable to them? Shouldn’t they, of all people, understand the freedom of giving away?

The widow shows the way.

There’s another story in the Bible about a widow giving away all she has. It happens in 1 Kings when Elijah, the prophet, is sent by God to a widow in Zarephath because she would provide for him, but upon reaching her she informs him that she was just about to feed her last bread to her son and then their big plans for the day consisted of laying down and dying. Elijah, being the model of compassion that he was, immediately told her he would help find her some food and bring help her out of her condition. Wait, no. That’s not what Elijah did. The story goes that, after hearing her sob story, Elijah reiterated, “Give me the bread, first of all.”

What’s going on here?

Why does God command poor folks to give their last morsels of food? Why does he praise the widow for tithing herself beyond poverty?

Maybe because he knows what comes next.

In the story of the widow and Elijah what comes next is that, upon giving to Elijah, the poor widow discovers that her house is overflowing with food. Moreover, she receives a promise that her flour will never run out nor her oil run dry. She is taken care of, forever.

Fast forward to our widow and her two coins, and this is exactly the same promise she receives. To contribute out of abundance is one thing. To contribute out of our abundance allows us to still feel secure in the fact that there’s yet more we can fall back on. We still have money, family, food, a retirement account. Giving 5 or 10 or even 20% away is pretty easy when those things feel secure. But to give out of our scarcity? To give not just some but all of it away?

That’s where we find God, because that is the place of complete trust. The widow shows the way, because that way is the way of the cross. And her reward is the same as that other widow because when she gives it all away she will find that she is held secure not by her things or her standing in society but by the God who created her. To give out of our scarcity is to give for the right reason: Not because it’s the right thing to do, not to make us feel better about ourselves or tide a guilty conscience, but because giving it all is the only way to meet Jesus.

Now, that might sound harsh. Surely, we meet Jesus if we just do our best, if we give a healthy amount. Surely, Jesus is pleased when we give anything to anybody—our times, our selves, our possessions. Surely, I only need to reach a certain benchmark to be seen as righteous in the kingdom of God. Surely, I just need to be a good person.

No. No. No. It’s not enough. In fact, giving some just tends to make us all the more self-righteous because then we can look down upon all those who give less than us. It invites comparisons. Jesus invites no such nonsense. Give it all. The widow shows the way.

But, I can hear you saying, I can’t do that. It’s not possible.

Oh it is. You can give it all away. In fact, I’ll go so far as to promise you will give it away. It’s coming on the day that you die. On that day it’s all going away one way or another. Nothing you have can be taken with you for what happens next. Death is the big baptism: the one that completes the work of shedding you from the things that do not define you.

That widow, giving her two coins, was simply showing us that, on occasion, the kingdom of God breaks through into our world in such incredible ways. We can follow Jesus. It’s possible. It requires giving out of scarcity, giving it all away. But for most of us we won’t know what it looks and feels like to truly trust completely until the day that we die. That’s maybe unfortunate. Because there’s a better life for us. Following Jesus isn’t a guarantee of comfort or security or anything like that—quite the opposite—but following Jesus is the road to a life of purpose.

And in this world many of us just need direction, we just need some purpose and meaning deeper than the bottom of a bottle or the flimsiness of human relationships. We need something that lasts forever. That’s what Jesus is offering. It is life beyond this life, but it’s also a journey in this life that makes life worth living. The widow shows the way: the way to new life. It’s giving away everything so that this life may be lived as it always was intended. Free, truly free.

It isn’t easy. It’s nearly impossible. The good things usually are. But whether you rise to the occasion or fall short, know this: You will give away everything eventually. It may even be taken from you kicking and screaming as you exit this life. And then you will discover what really matters. And it isn’t giving 10%. The widow shows the way: It’s all or nothing.