And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
Our dispositions to gift vary from person to person. Most of the time, we have wrong conception about giving and receiving gifts. Some people tend to appreciate gifts given to them when they consider it big and befitting to them and some look down on you when they consider the gift too small for their status. All of these attitudes should not be found with Christians.
Let us consider the scenario of the poor widow who gave just only two mites she had and was commended by our Lord Jesus Christ that she gave better than others. Many took out of their abundance to the treasury but to the widow all she had she gave. If it were to be human judgment the widow would have been seen as giving nothing.
Therefore, to us as children of God, there is a lesson to learn from this, that there is no gift too big or small to give to others or to the Lord, provided it is with good intention and from a pure heart.
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Wrong notion about gift has turned so many of God's children to be what they are not supposed to be. Some has become so stingy and lazy because of their wrong motive about what gift is all about. Many consider what they have as too small to give and so become stingy while some consider what is given them too small to use for their good. But there is a great lesson to be learnt in the parable of the talent giver. The master gave five talents to a particular servant, two to another and one talent to the third servant. Behold the third servant who received his one talent and consider it small buried it and it failed to multiply. But those who appreciated what was given to them by their master worked with it and so they multiply.
Christians should be grateful for what they receive from others. neither should we be selfish with what we have to give to others. Gift is all about sacrificing for others, let us learn to always show appreciation.
And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.
But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
And they did so, and made them all sit down.
Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
Another good message to prove that no gift is small is what we can see in the miracle Jesus performed at the desert of Bethsaida where He preached to people. When the day was going by, His Apostles went to him to discharge the people to go and take care of themselves, knowing fully well that they only had With them two fish and five loaves of bread which they considered would not be enough to feed about five thousand men that were there. But Jesus Christ proved them wrong by using such a little thing to feed them and have left over. The lesson we can deduce from this is that we should not at any time hesitate to let out whatsoever we have within our reach to others. What you think is small may go a long way in another man's life. Christians, we must endeavor to give good gift to God first and to ourselves in order to receive a greater gift from God who is the giver of all good things. The mystery of no small gift is all about our Lord Jesus, God gave him to the whole world but the world considered him little or small so they fail to appreciate God and failed to obey Christ because they consider him as a small gift but He is the greatest gift of life ever given to the world. Appreciate Him today and through him you will have life everlasting.
