Luke 21:1-4 The God of the destitute

Luke 21:1-4 The widow's mite. Parallel story in Mark 12:41-44. This goes beyond proportional giving. Moses had commanded the Israelites to tithe, (Lev 27:30, Deut 12:6, 14:22,28 26:12 ) and on occasion to give beyond the ten percent, but generally it was in proportion to how God had blessed them. And even in the case of freeing a slave, as in Deut 15:14, they were to give to that freed slave abundantly, in accordance with how God had blessed them. And we see the principle of proportional giving in Acts 11:29. But Jesus commented that the widow had put in all she had to live on.

          There is an element of experiential faith present in the lives of those at the very bottom of the economic ladder that is not present in the lives of those of us who have good jobs and steady income.   Working at a ministry that deals with the homeless is instructive in this regard. People who know The Lord but are destitute are forced to depend on Him for the daily necessities of life. And when they describe how The Lord walks with them, we begin to realize that He never misses a beat. He is always faithful. And so Jesus praises this widow's faith because she has learned this through experience. She is willing to put in all her monetary offering because she knows that God cares for and defends the widows, the orphans, and the alien.