I know a 95-year-old woman who has been living in good health mentally, physically, and spiritually up to the present. Her husband passed away when she was still very young, in her 30s, leaving behind six young children. To support her family, the young mother rode a bicycle in the extreme heat of the sun and sold goods from house to house every day—except Sabbath. She said to me: “With a small amount of profit, every month I was able to return the tithe, give offerings, pay my children’s tuition fees, and cover the family’s living expenses.” She sacrificed countless things in her life for many years, and despite her hardship as a widow, she always made giving offerings and returning God’s tithes a priority. According to her, she never worried about having no money for living expenses. No matter what, she determined to put “God First,” because she knew that God would take care of her out of His abundant love and mercy.
The story does not end here. This God-fearing woman, whom I call Opung Anna Hutapea, served the Lord faithfully. She was very devoted to Him. She raised her children to fear the Lord, and as a result, her children attained success in life and in education. One of them became a vice president of a large corporation, serves as a church elder, and served as a member of his local conference/union/division executive committees for many years. What a blessing! Opung Anna received a hundredfold return as a reward of her faithfulness to God.
Opung Anna’s story is similar to that of the widow giving her two mites in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus was in the temple, watching the people bring their offerings. He noticed many rich people throw their offerings into the offering box in large amounts and then along came a poor widow who had only two mites in her hand—that’s all that she had. Timidly, this poor widow grasped those two coins and slowly put them into the offering box, hoping that no one would hear the sound of the coins hitting the bottom of the box. Jesus observed this scene, and He called His disciples and said, “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43, NIV).
Jesus observed the rich men who appeared to be very generous, but after they gave, they still had plenty of money left because they had given out of their abundance. The poor widow, on the other hand, had given all she had, and she had nothing left. With her seemingly insignificant offering of two mites, she had given more than all that those wealthy people gave; she gave her all.
Giving is about sacrifice and commitment. The two widows with similar circumstances have taught us a fundamental principle of true sacrifice, commitment, faithfulness, and trust in God. As He did with the poor widow, Jesus watches our giving and sacrifice for Him as well. He does not measure the sacrifice by the amount of the gift, but by its cost to the giver—what we have remaining. It is not the portion, but the proportion of what we give that counts. These wonderful widows trusted in God; they trusted that He would meet their needs, and, indeed, God truly did not fail them. When we put our trust in God, He can multiply that which is invested for Him. He will never disappoint us. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (NIV).
Friends, how much do you have? How much do you give? How much remains? Let’s ponder upon it.
Hiskia Missah
Editor
