POETRY: The Widow’s Mites—A Poem, by Brother Roy

Posted on February 16, 2017

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)

During the last days that Jesus walked upon this earth as a man,
He went up to the temple to see if anyone truly understood God’s plan.

A nameless, faceless widow passed by Jesus as He rested against the temple wall,
But He did not miss her devotion as she offered her whole living – her absolute all.

She passed unnoticed by the stream of visitors in God’s house that ancient day,
But she did not escape the eyes of Savior as he sat unnoticed and out of the way.

The gifts of the richest men in Jerusalem from memory have faded away,
But Jesus intended that the story of the Widow’s mites would be here to stay.

Even though her pockets were empty and her clothing was threadbare,
She withheld not a cent, regretting only that she didn’t have more to share.

The story of her sacrifice and devotion around this old world has spread,
Inspiring others to help the needy and to see that the hungry are fed.

It’s not how much of my money to God I will decide to give
But how much of God’s money can I keep, if for Lord I want to live.

Money is Jesus’s most powerful enemy, a tool of destruction in the devil’s hand.
The love of money is His rival and the root of all kinds of evils in the heart of man.

She moved through the crowd to cast in her two mites and then silently drew apart,
But more than the two mites she left there, for with them she left Him her heart.

I ask you today, what are you going to do in light of this widow’s account?
Will you determine to give of your abundance, a sacrificial gift that will really count?

Will you understand the Master’s message of the widow and then answer His call?
For Jesus said of her small gift, “The poor widow hath cast more in than they all.”