Widow's Mites

This week in my Religion 211 New Testament Class we read a lot in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  One story that stuck out to me that Jesus gave was about the Widow's Mite.

To give a little bit of context to this story: Jesus was teaching about taxes, celestial marriage, the two great commandments and the divine sonship of Christ along with the widow's mites.  He was giving a higher law instead of teaching about Moses' law. When we look at the widow, we see the focus on how strong her faith was.  She had NOTHING but the clothes on her back and the money in her hand.  She didn't have to give that little bit of "money" because she was poor, right? But you see, that is not the point.  Her gift to God was so "beautiful because it shows how deep her faith goes - all the way down to the pennies." (https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/the-context-of-the-widows-mite/) We should all look to the widow as an example.  Her faith was so strong that she was willing to give more than she should have by the standards back then. The religious leaders at the time were judging her for giving that "mite".  Even to say that those same religious leaders were taken advantage of by the poor. 

Unfortunately the story is not long or even detailed but it is a simple story to show the higher law of Jesus. This story is a miracle that can happen for all of us. If we can see such a humble person give all that she has, then what can we do? Shouldn't our faith be as strong as the Widow? Shouldn't we live by the higher law as Jesus has asked us? Are we like those religious leaders judging others? Are we giving enough of our time and talents to be more faithful? If we think about all these questions, it helps us put into perspective what Christ would like us to do. We can choose are we going to give all that we can or are we going to give only what we want?

Mark 12:38-44