Daily Devotional for Monday October 18, 1999

Give To Bless Others

(Luke 21:1-4)

What is the real significance of the offering this widow made at the Temple that day? As most were making their offering from the abundance they had been blessed with, here come a widow lady with no wealth, no possessions, just getting by day to day. Yet Jesus took the time to point out that her offering was greater than the others, not in the amount, but in the heart it was given with. I am really tired of hearing all of the manipulative pleas for money that too many make. Money is necessary to fuel the work of the Kingdom, but in 10 years of ministry my appeals have always been simple. Give to bless others, just as God has blessed you. When you give to help others, you not only receive a blessing, but your gift blesses others. The point of this passage is that the widow gave because she had faith in God to meet her daily needs, and gave out of obedience and understanding of how God works. You don't "give to get". You give to bless others, and because of your right heart and obedience, God in turn blesses you. His blessings come in many forms. Not just money but in things like health, safety, daily provision, many of the blessings we just take for granted.

The point I want you to take from today is that the amount you give isn't important, it is the heart and motivations that you give it with. When you give sacrificially, you are saying to God that you trust Him to provide for your need as He promised to and you are more concerned for others than yourself. Nothing can touch the heart of God more than giving of yourself to others, much as He gave His own Son for the sins of this world. God understands sacrificial giving.