1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men that were casting their gifts into the treasury.2 And he saw a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than they all: 4 for all these did of their superfluity cast in unto the gifts; but she of her want did cast in all the living that she had.

What a contrast this charming sketch supplies to the picture which Jesus drew of the Pharisees! In the eyes of the world the service of the poor widow was meager and worthless, while the gifts of the hypocrites were costly and great; in the eyes of the Lord their offerings were comparatively worthless and she gave more than they all. As a matter of fact, she had brought but two small coins, worth less than a half cent, but they were all that she had. With this scene in mind we should be careful not to call our offerings "mites" unless they are all that we possess; we should be encouraged, however, to know that our Lord looks upon the heart and estimates the gift by the motive and the love and the sacrifice involved; above all, we should be reminded that we can best measure our offerings not by what we give but by how much we keep. The influence of the woman is still moving multitudes toward the treasury of the Lord.