The Final Two Mites
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Final Two Mites
Final Two Mites
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
People say, “I will give more when I have more” atau “I will be generous when I have more to give”. But the truth is, you will only be “a stingy person who has more”. If you are not living generously NOW, what can ensure you will be THEN?
Why should God give more to you when you don’t even want to extend God’s hands to others through giving?
Why should God give more to you when you don’t even want to extend God’s hands to others through giving?
1. Giving Starts with What You Have in Your Hands
Ayat 42 mengatakan bahwa janda ini HANYA memberikan 2 peser. Mengapa 2 peser dan bukan lebih? Simpel, karena hanya itu yang dia miliki (ayat 44). Tuhan tidak pernah meminta apa yang tidak kita miliki. That is the principle. Tuhan tidak mengajarkan kita untuk berhutang supaya kita bisa memberi. Jadi, kalau kita merasa kurang resource untuk memberi, langkah pertama yang bisa kita lakukan adalah menyusun ulang budget pengeluaran kita. Seringkali bukannya kita tidak memiliki apa-apa untuk dipersembahkan, tapi kita tidak mengkhususkan apa yang kita mau persembahkan untuk Tuhan.
Adjusting our lifestyle just to give is sacrificial, reducing the number of Starbucks coffee you order is sacrificial, not buying things you love is sacrificial, but you always have something to give. Meskipun jumlahnya sedikit, this widow has given sacrificially and this is so significant that Jesus shared her story with the disciples.
The less you have, the more your sacrifice means. – Craig Groeschel
2. Giving Means Trusting God’s Ability to Supply
Giving sacrificially doesn’t always make sense.
Setelah Markus 12:44, tidak diceritakan lagi bagaimana keadaan janda ini. Ayat 44 mengatakan bahwa janda ini memberikan SELURUH yang ada padanya, yaitu SELURUH nafkahnya. Logikanya adalah, setelah memberikan persembahan, janda ini tidak punya apa-apa lagi. Dan kalau kita membaca “biografi singkat” janda ini, identitasnya sangat mengkhawatirkan, sudah janda, miskin lagi. Seharusnya dia punya bermacam-macam alasan untuk tidak memberi, apalagi memberikan seluruhnya. How about giving God only one copper coin? So she could stay alive with another coin. After all God didn’t say anything about emptying your wallet for Him, did He?
3. Giving Means Trusting God with Things We Can’t See
Dari ayat 43 dan 44, kita sudah mengetahui apa pendapat Yesus mengenai persembahan janda miskin ini. Truly an admirable act of sacrifice. Murid-murid Yesus juga tentunya belajar hal-hal yang penting melalui pengajaran ini. Akan tetapi, ada satu masalah, janda miskin ini tidak tahu bahwa dia sedang dipuji oleh Yesus, dan mungkin dia tidak tahu bahkan sampai akhir hidupnya.
“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”- Charles Spurgeon