“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, 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 12:41-44 NIV)
At the time I became her pastor, Vivian was surviving on food stamps and a small S.S.I. stipend. She had never married and never worked outside the home, but had taken care of her aging mother and father, a pastor in the old Swedish Methodist church. In those days pensions only covered pastors and their spouses, so when her parents died, the pension money stopped. Whenever I visited, Vivian insisted on feeding me. The fare was usually baloney or peanut butter and jelly, but she delighted to share her table and it was always a joyful feast.
Vivian had a Blessing Box, into which she put a penny every time God blessed her. Twice a year she would put a big bag of pennies in the offering plate. Vivian also tithed what little money she had. After I had been at the church a few months, some church members asked me to speak to her about not tithing because she couldn't afford it. I was embarrassed, but finally approached her with the church's loving concern. She received the words as words of love, but her reply really surprised me. "Why should I be denied the joy of giving just because I'm poor?"
In worldly goods, Vivian was poorer than anyone else in our church. In spite of that, she felt herself to be the most blessed! From Vivian, I learned that abundance has nothing to do with having money, but everything to do with being full of the joy of the Lord.
-- Rev. Ed Wilder in “Alive Now,” May/June 2002, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN. Used with permission.
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