The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 21:1-4, “And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.

2 And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins.

3 And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;

4 for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in

all that she had to live on.’”

I was taught to believe the Bible –everything it said, just the way it said it.

But as a kid, these verses always gave me trouble. The rich men gave

handfuls of money into the Temple treasury, while this poor widow only

gave two, small copper coins; yet Jesus said she had given more than

the rich men. How could this be? I knew Jesus made no mistakes, but

how could He figure that she gave more? Over the years, I examined

this passage carefully. We’re not told how much the rich men gave;

but we are told that the poor woman gave “two small copper coins.”

They were worth in total about $0.0028. Imagine! She could not have

purchased anything of value with such a paltry amount. Besides that,

it was all that she had. So, we are led to understand that Jesus was not

measuring how much was given, but how much was left over!

We are responsible to support those who share the Gospel: pastors,

evangelists, missionaries. At the same time, inasmuch as we are able,

we are to be careful to share with those who are responsible in using it

properly. And we must view what we give as given to the LORD. Once

we have given it, however it is used becomes the responsibility of the

one to whom it has been given. When we see that what we’ve given

is being used responsibly, we feel free to give to them again. When the

LORD sees that we are responsible in using what He has allowed us to

have, He gives us more. We must always be faithful stewards!

We love you and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”