The offering of the widow.

(Mk 12: 41-44) "While Jesus was sitting before the ark of the offering, he watched as the people poured money into the ark, and many rich people poured in. A poor widow came and threw two white ones, or a quarter Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, this poor widow has cast out more than all those who have thrown into the ark, because all have thrown away what is left over, but this one, out of her poverty, has thrown all that He had, all his sustenance."

source

God bless my brothers of steemit.

"Jesus watched the people throw money into the ark"
It seems that after the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and Scribes had finished with their round of questions, and had been defeated, Jesus sat down tired in a place in the temple from which people could be seen as they cast their offerings.

This reminds us that although our offerings must be secret, to the point that our left hand should not know what the right hand does (Mt 6: 3), however, we should be aware that God is always looking at what we offer.

"Many rich people threw a lot"

The first thing that Jesus observed is that the rich put in a lot of money. Of course, this was reasonable and Jesus did not criticize it. However, he did not arouse his admiration as he later made the offering of a poor widow. The reason was, as Jesus explained, that the offerings of these rich did not represent any sacrifice for them, but that they gave of what was left of their abundance.

"A poor widow"

It was then that a widow came to present her offering. But before we consider what he did, we must remember some details about the lives of these women in the Jewish society of the time of Jesus.
The first thing we notice is that Jesus showed great interest in the situation of the widows. The reason was that once their husbands died, they were left in a difficult situation of abandonment and abandonment. We already know that in the ancient world there were no pensions for widows or any social security, it was also very difficult for them to enter the working world, so, unless they had their own financial means, their life became very complicated. Of course, if they had an older son, or relatives who took care of them, they could have a better time.

source

But even supposing that they had some source of income or property, they often fell into the hands of unscrupulous men, willing to steal and deceive them (Mark 12:40). And the judges themselves were not very favorable to attend to their causes (Lk 18: 1-5).
Therefore, the widows depended on the mercy of the people. In this sense, the Old Testament established different commandments for the Israelite to take care of them, something that was repeated in Christianity (1 Tim. 5: 3-10).

In short, the condition of the widows was very hard and worthy of pity. And it is not surprising that as a result of their need and helplessness, many of them were led to greater dependence on God and to a more constant use of prayer than most of us (Luke 2: 36-38).

"A poor widow cast two white ones"

Now the biblical text introduces a widow who threw two whites. These coins would be the equivalent of the smallest fraction of any currency today. Its value as such was insignificant.
But the action of this woman, along with the commentary of Jesus, has inspired thousands of people to follow his example, which has served to multiply that small offering in an incalculable way. This confirms that God always does great things with the small resources that are placed in their hands. This should lead us to give value to the acts of humble service of those simple brothers, and to ignore the false greatness of others.

On the other hand, we must also remember the important principle that the Lord taught us: "He who is faithful in the very little, also in the most is faithful" (Lk 16:10). The good administration of the small resources that God has placed in our hands will enable us to receive greater responsibilities from the Lord.