Hi friends,
I figured something out the other day, and feel compelled to share it with you. I’m sorry if this turns out really long, and I hope you can make sense of it.
For this to make a little bit more sense, you need to understand that people are giving donations to my church, on my behalf, in order for them to get a tax receipt (Canadians want to know more? Just ask!). Then, my church will make a big lump donation to AIM for my Race fund. With me so far? So this means that I don’t get to track online how many donations are coming in.
However, my Mom is the church secretary, so she called me from work the other day, and told me about some donations. What a relief and blessing to know that people are actually behind me financially!
Okay, so she’s telling me these numbers, and most of them had three digits, then she says that someone gave $5. To be honest, I thought, “Okay, well, that’s nice, but the one with a couple more zeros attached is much nicer.” And sadly, I didn’t think anything more of it.
Then I sat down to do my devotions, and here’s when God did what He does best.
“Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering
box, and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And He said,
‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.
For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her
poverty put in all she had to live on.’ ” Luke 21:1-4 ESV
Anytime I’ve read this passage before, I’ve thought of it in terms of how much I should be tithing. You know, give what you can, because God will reward you for your faithfulness. This time around, I felt convicted, humbled, and challenged.
Whether or not I’m taking this verse out of context is irrelevant, because the lesson I learned is still valid.
The person who gives $500 toward the Race should definitely get gratitude, for that’s extremely generous. But the person who gives $5 should not go overlooked. They are giving what they can, in a show of support. To them, it might very well feel like $5000.
Who am I to say that one person is worth more than another? I’m so guilty and so broken about this. And I’m feeling very frustrated because I can’t seem to say what’s on my heart. Each tear that is falling down my face right now tells you that this is serious.
Friends, we need to be 100% thankful for every single gift we receive. And whether that’s a huge monetary donation, or whether it’s someone telling you they’re praying for you, or whether someone takes you out for coffee, or offers to help with a fundraiser, or whether they give $5 from their heart, each one is of such a high value that words cannot explain it.
God has the finances for this trip covered for each of us. Our job is to work hard, and be thankful. Do not lose heart.
