Our pastor brought a message this morning about the widow who gave into the temple treasury all that she had. Mark tells us in his Gospel, the twelfth chapter, that one day Jesus was near the entry door of the temple, and there was a basket or some kind of container into which people were giving their money as they entered the temple to worship. He noticed that those who were rich were giving quite a sum of money, but then He noticed something else. There was a widow who came to worship, and she cast her money into the basket as well, only she gave whatever she could give. Her total amount of money was only two little copper coins, the smallest of Roman coins, which came to the grand total of one penny. But then Jesus called his disciples over to his side and made this observation, “Out of all the offerings given, this poor widow woman has given the most. You see, these rich people may have given a lot, but they gave only out of their surplus, that is, out of the money they had left over after spending all they had wanted, but this poor woman gave the only amount she had to give. They gave out of their surplus, but she gave out of her heart.
The writer of Proverbs wrote in Proverbs 4:21, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Widows, in Jesus’ day, and even before then in the old Testament days, if they didn’t have any family members to take care of them, either had to beg for money or had to work the most menial jobs they could find, if even something they could make themselves like baskets, or candles, and then sell them on the opened marked so they could try to support themselves. Here was this poor widow woman, who didn’t seem to have anyone to help her, yet do you know what? She must have loved God and loved to worship Him in His Temple, so she gave the only amount that she could, which was all that she had, the total sum of one penny.
Jesus taught in Matthew 6:19-21, “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in to steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in to steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So, let me ask you, where are your treasures? Are they in that which you can keep, or in that which you can give away? Are they in the clothes you wear, where moths can come and eat tiny little holes in and ruin them in an instant? A thousand dollar suit or dress can literally be destroyed by one little moth that was hungry! Or are your treasures in a bank or under the mattress at home where thieves like interest or literal thieves can break in to steal? Where do you keep your treasures, in the physical things you own down here on earth, or in heavenly banks and treasures that you have earned by giving you riches, your clothes, your time, your words spoken in care of someone here on earth? These kinds of treasures are the treasures that you build in heaven. You know, I’ve done a lot of funerals as a Pastor, but I’ve never done one where a U-haul follows the hurst! So, where are your treasures?
