I think you all know how to count, and some of you know lots more than that. In fact, some of you might even be called a “math whiz.” But even if you are smart, there are some math problems that are way beyond your brains or your computer to find the answer.
First question: How many stars are in the sky? We know that God placed them there with His fingers, but nobody can count them, and nobody ever will.
Second question: Which is greater, a hundred dollars or a penny? Read this story before you try to answer that one. It isn’t as easy as it looks.
Jesus was sitting near the temple in Jeru-salem in a place near the treasury, and He saw the people putting in their money offerings. Maybe the coins were wrapped up, but that makes no difference to the eyes of the Son of God. Jesus knew exactly what each person put in, and He also knew how much he or she had left for themselves.
Along comes a rich man. His offering to the treasury is large. I don’t know how much the offering was, but I’m sure Je-sus had no trouble with calculations.
Here comes a poor lady whose husband is dead, and she has almost no money. If she gives her two mites to the treasury, then what will she have for dinner? Actually, she will have nothing left, because those two mites are the only money she has to live on. Can you guess what she did? Yes, she let those two mites slip from her fingers into the treasury. And I can tell you only one thing-Je-sus saw it all - that she had nothing left for herself.
Are you sure that Jesus sees what you do? Can you let it all go and trust Him for the future? Don’t you think there is a little bit that you might want to keep for yourself ? The Bible does not tell us what happened to that woman or what Jesus did for her. But think about God’s great heart of love in this verse: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:3232He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)). I know God’s great heart of love, and I know He took care of all that poor widow’s needs.
Here is the math question: Which was bigger, the rich man’s large offering or the poor widow’s two mites? Your computer won’t come up with an answer to that question; however, Jesus already gives us the answer: “Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all” (Luke 21:33And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: (Luke 21:3)). The poor widow’s offering was all of her money - 100%!
Did the two mites add up to more than all the other rich offerings put together? Yes; Je-sus said so. His values are not the same as ours. The widow’s offering was a secret to everyone but God, and He knew and He valued it rightly.
Do you have secrets with Jesus that nobody else knows? Or maybe other people would not know how to value them if they did know. Can we trust Him for the future even if it looks impossible now?
First: We can trust Jesus to take from us the impossible load of our sins. We can’t measure that load, but He can, because He bore it Himself in those dark hours on the cross. No computer on earth could ever measure that load, but Jesus knows.
Second: We can trust Jesus for our daily cares. He knows how big they are or how small they are. . . even when they seem big to us. He put the stars in the sky, and they are there day and night, whether we see them or not. If His understanding is limitless, surely He can understand our small cares.
Third: We can trust Jesus for our eternity. He will make a new body out of our dust or He will take us up in the clouds without ever dying. He will give each of us a new body to live with Himself forever. Maybe that looks impossible, but we can trust God’s promise and His perfect wisdom, which never changes.
Are you trusting Jesus for your future?
Think About God’s Word!
1. Who said the widow had put in more than all the rest?
Project: How many ways can you find in 2 Corinthians 8-9 that show how much God appreciates generous giving?