Our All in All

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all: for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke 21:1–4)

Appearances are not as they often seem. It looks as though the wealthy are putting in much more than anyone else, but Jesus sees through all of that and says the widow is actually giving more than they are. At first glance, this looks as if Jesus is simply saying percentage giving is what really reveals the heart. And there is something to that, of course. Jesus also said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” which among other things means that what you spend your money on reveals a lot about where your heart is.

But there is more to be seen here. Jesus reveals here a woman who has “made herself poor, yet has great riches.” (Proverbs 31:7)

When I say she has made herself poor, I do not mean that she is responsible for her great misfortune of being immersed in poverty. Rather, I mean that she is facing the trouble that has come upon her by denying herself, dying to herself, refusing to seek to “save her life.” I mean that, rather than attempting to hold on to what she has, using her poverty as her excuse for doing so, she gives her life away. And as a result, she finds life—and riches—the riches no one can take away from her.

This woman, observed by Christ only days before His own great sacrifice on the cross, is not struggling with appearances. She is not fooled by her great poverty, her circumstances, her trouble, her misfortune. To the contrary, she sees only one thing, and that one thing is the truth: God is her all in all. She will give herself away to Him because He has given Himself away for her. Not only has God always taken care of her—and her abundance is found in Him—but He has always given of His all for her. How can she do less?

“Lord God, You are our all in all. Thank You for giving of Yourself that we might have life. Thank You for Christ’s own humiliation, poverty, and death that we might have glory, riches, and life. Make us like You, O God, and teach us to lay down our all for You—our money, our time, our relationships, our loves, our everything—knowing all that we need is found in You. Help us, dear God, not to look on appearances, not to be fooled by circumstances, but to look to the truth as it is found in You, to look to the promises of Your Word, to see the great riches we have in following You, to look by faith to our only hope, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.”