25th July 2025

Two Mites

They all put in out of their abundance,

but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.    

Mark 12:44 

Today's Bible Reading: Mark 12:41-44.

In Mark 12, we find the Lord Jesus sitting with His disciples in the temple near the treasury watching as people walk by and depositing their gifts for the temple. Some made a show of it, perhaps so others could see how much they had given. Just then, a poor woman came by and threw in two “mites.”

At that time, a mite was the least valuable coin in monitory circulation. Thus, the widow’s gift was very small, amounting to nothing in the eyes of most folks. But our Lord saw what others did not see. She had given “all that she had” (Mark 12:44). The widow was not trying to draw attention to herself. She was simply doing what she was able to do. And Jesus noticed!

We must not forget that our Lord sees all that we do, though it may seem very small. It may be nothing more than showing a cheerful countenance in difficult times or an unnoticed act of love and kindness to someone who happens to pass by. It may be a brief, silent prayer for a neighbour in need.

Jesus said, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. . . . But when you do a charitable deed, . . . may [it] be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matt. 6:1-4).

Prayer: Father in Heaven, may all my giving be sacrificial, from my heart, and full of love; secretive and never boastfully. In Jesus name. Amen.