An Eternal Compliment

There is a profound and provocative account of a poor widow, who unknowingly became the inspiring subject of a principled lesson by Jesus, on relative and comparative generosity.  (I can’t help but read this in a modern day context – I’m left imagining how today’s news and current affairs programs would have reported this story!)

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” //Mark 12:41-44 NKJV

The New Living Translation finishes this story this way; For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on. The Message Translation says; All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all. This generous soul had every reason to be outside the temple begging but instead was inside the temple giving. According to Jesus, she, based on her capacity or lack of, gave proportionately more than the lot of them!

We know that God doesn’t see as man sees, and it’s evident from this story that He doesn’t evaluate the way we’re inclined to. Many of us possibly would have been impressed, inspired even, by the amounts of money given by the rich. And you would also be forgiven for possibly overlooking or discounting the poor widow and what she gave. Not Jesus though - He noticed the poor widow and surprisingly credited her with outgiving the rich! I have heard it said many times over, and it should never become cliché - it’s not equal giving but equal sacrifice.

Maybe you can identify with the poor widow’s life experience, struggling to make ends meet, or maybe for you, her selfless example challenges your level of generosity relative to your own capacity. It’s been profoundly stated, True generosity is not evident in how much a giver gives but in how much they have left over. I don’t think Jesus was making this about being rich or poor. The encouraging point of this story though, is despite your socio-economic position, no one is disqualified from being generous, and in relative terms, the rich in this story could have been equally as generous and impressive. Selah

The Apostle Paul challenges the attitudes of the well-to-do, and highlights the unique opportunity they have to be a blessing; Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life. //1 Timothy 6:17-19 Message

The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several gold coins. A courtier was astonished at his generosity and commented, "Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar's need. Why give him gold?" Alexander responded in royal fashion, "Copper coins would suit the beggar's need, but gold coins suit Alexander's giving." Alexander the Great knew this about generosity - that it reflected him.

This poor widow takes her place in history, having received an eternal compliment, making it into the cannon of scripture. She would have never imagined, that what she was about to do that day would be noticed, let alone seized upon by Jesus, and subsequently recorded as a demonstration of extravagant generosity for the benefit of future generations. 

Life doesn't come with a mute button!

As we know life doesn’t come with a mute button! Therefore a healthy soul is reliant upon discerning and dealing with noise in your life. Noise can be the various sounds, and the many voices that surround us – TV advertisements; the neighbours barking dog; the ringing mobile phone; the power tools from the worksite across the road; the questions and requests of the kids (or other people’s kids!); or the ‘duff-duff’ of a passing car’s sound system! Noise hijacks your mind, disrupting thought and meditation. Most of the time you strive to hear yourself think, and there’s a lot of truth to the thought, silence is the secret to sanity - as it is also the key to clarity, strength and a healthy soul. 

Noise is a marketing term; it refers to anything that gets in the way of a recipient receiving the entire message that a company is trying to convey. This is not only true in the marketplace but in our relationship with God. God desires to speak to us, through the Holy Spirit and His Word, and noise in our life has a way of interfering, or interrupting the important things that God has to say to us.

Jesus sought uninterrupted time and space from His daily ministry agenda. Mark 1:35 says, very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to be alone with God and pray. It’s been said that when all the noise is gone, there is only God. Like Jesus, we all need a good discipline of ‘quiet time’ in our life - preferably daily. You can conclude that Jesus understood that noise in His life had an impact on His soul, and the ability to hear His Father. According to Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, this time and space was where He humbly realigned His will with God’s.

No matter what you do in life, you may relate in some way to the noise in Jesus’ life. Consider for a moment; the questions and concerns of disciples- students in leadership and ministry development; the criticisms and complaints of the religious leaders; the many diverse needs and demands of the multitudes requiring help and healing; the cynical commentary of the governing authorities; His adversary the devil not to mention the voice of His family and His own thoughts and emotions. Jesus demonstrates the importance of prayer and meditation, taking some time to escape the hustle and bustle, eliminating the noise that life and activity naturally emanates to maintain a healthy soul.

A Culture of Honour

John concludes his gospel that for every story recorded about Jesus there are countless that weren’t. This only highlights the importance of each and every story that did make it into the canon of scripture. Including one of the most intriguing, and tragic stories of missed opportunity for those in Jesus' own hometown.

The Bible says, that Jesus' fame was widespread. Though it would seem that the people of Nazareth rarely experienced prominence or accolades of this kind. Highlighting this was when Nathanael said to Phillip concerning Jesus', what good can come out of Nazareth? We get an insight into the quality of the people from Jesus’ hometown, as we learn the reception that He received when returning home to minister in the local synagogue. 


Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. //Matthew 13:53-58 NKJV

Shortly after ministering, over-familiar family friends frivolously started to question Jesus authenticity. Jesus’ life evidently challenged the core of those who attempted to apply scrutiny, which only highlighted their insecurities and threatened their own small existence and validity. They were initially very complimentary, maybe even affectionately surprised by Jesus’ wisdom and demonstration of the miraculous. It seems however that they couldn’t reconcile the natural with the spiritual. Who they knew in the flesh got in the way of the gift and call of God on Jesus’ life. This hostile indifference, as The Message puts it, curiously and tragically undermined the miraculous! Consider for a moment those living in the town desperate for Jesus’ ministry who missed out, let alone the difference that Jesus also could have made in the lives of those who lacked faith, humility, and the character to honour. Often it‘s those closest to us, who know us the most who have trouble honouring the gift and call of God on our life.    

It’s been said, the key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions to ask. The first question - where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? - could have led to a life-changing God encounter, instead it led to further rhetorical questions that only opened the door to offence. Instead a right question asked with a small and suspicious spirit, and an impoverished soul is sure to lead to a wrong outcome.

Jesus felt no compulsion to prove those closest to him wrong by turning up the number of miracles. Instead He just moved on to where He was received with honour and humility.

Don’t allow people to hold you back, and don’t allow yourself to be in the position to limit what God wants to do through those closest to you. Everybody benefits when we honour the gift and the call of God on people’s lives.