Extreme Giving - Part Three Of Four In Series "Firstfruits" Series

So what does this have to do with you? Is it just a story? Maybe the reason this story is told is so you and I can look at what we have and ask….are we willing to give what is most precious to us and to say “Lord, I love you more than this…and I love you more than my own life…take it…and use it, and me, according to your will.”

We have a story of another woman. One woman gave two coins. That’s it…two coins. Read Luke 21:1-4. (read scripture) “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins."I tell you the truth," 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. "Imagine, headlines from Billy Graham crusade, offering taken, “Billy Graham praise woman for giving her two cents”. If Tiger Woods or Donald Trump gave a million dollars to Billy Graham, it would make headlines, and we’d all praise them for being so generous, even though they could probably find that much in the cushions of their couches. But a gift of two small coins? Who cares? No one cared in this story…that is except Jesus. Why was this gift so special? It was because Jesus didn’t only see she gave two coins. He also saw that she left nothing else in her pockets. Gave everything she had left. Scripture says “all she had to live on”. Let’s not gloss over this huge word. Everything. ALL she had to live on. She had nothing else. Have you ever literally spent your last dollar? People do it everyday. It’s sad in our society there are people who spend their last dollar on a lottery ticket. Or on alcohol. This woman knew she wouldn’t make it on those two coins. So she decided to trust in God. This was an extreme act…an extreme act of faith. She was saying “God, I have nothing left. So I won’t trust in my coins. I’ll trust in your promises.” Now, if God left it up to me to determine who should give or not and how much, I would have easily let her slide. I’d have no problem saying “pass the plate to those rich people another time or two.” And to this woman I would say “ma’am, please, don’t do this. Here…let me give to you.” But here is the amazing thing that is overlooked, both in the story of the two coins AND in the story we heard about the expensive perfume. Have you caught it yet? In both stories, Jesus ACCEPTS the extreme gifts. Blows me away! You and I…I think we’d react like everyone else in the stories. With the perfume, I agree with the others…sell it, give it to the poor. But look again at what happens. (Mark 14:6-9)… Jesus says “leave her alone, this is for my burial…you can help the poor anytime you want.” Jesus doesn’t say “don’t do this…sell it and use the money for a more noble purpose…me? Oh, a little Aqua Velva from Walgreens will be just fine…” Jesus accepts the generous gift. And again, in this story, he allows the woman to give her very last penny? Why? Because He knows what we forget so often…That our gifts to God should be our very best, and that we are in far better shape giving everything we have to God and being in His care than hoarding our goods thinking they are what’s needed to care for us. Both these women didn’t just say they trusted in God, they showed it. This poor widow…she knew money wasn’t going to save her. This is an extreme act…of faith. It was time to put her money where her faith was and trust God completely. And notice that both stories are on opposite ends of the spectrum. One, even by today’s standards, ridiculously expensive…the other…what kind of God would accept a widow’s last two coins? But Jesus accepts them both. These ladies saw a chance…to trust God at a level most of us would never approach. And now, their stories, their acts of faith, have inspired millions of us.