The Woman Who Gave Everything

One day, Jesus was sitting near the offering box at the temple, watching people put in their money gifts to God. Many rich people came by, and they put in lots and lots of money. Their bags jingled with coins! Some of them made sure everyone could see how much they were giving. They wanted people to notice them and think, 'Wow, they're so generous!' But giving was easy for them because they had so much money left over.

Then Jesus noticed a poor widow woman walking quietly up to the offering box. She was very poor and didn't have fancy clothes like the rich people. Nobody else was paying attention to her at all. She reached into her small purse and pulled out two tiny coins - the smallest coins you could have, worth less than a penny together. She dropped them into the box with a tiny clink. That was all the money she had in the whole world!

Jesus called His disciples over because He wanted to teach them something very important. He pointed to the widow and said, 'Do you see that poor widow? She just gave more than all those rich people!' The disciples must have been very confused. How could two tiny coins be more than bags full of money? That didn't make sense! But Jesus was about to teach them how God sees things differently than we do.

Jesus explained, 'All those rich people gave a lot of money, but they gave from their extra. They still have plenty of money left for food, clothes, and everything they need. But this poor widow gave all the money she had to live on. She gave everything!' The widow trusted God completely. She believed God would take care of her even though she had no money left. That took great faith and love for God!

This story teaches us that God doesn't just look at how much we give. He looks at our hearts and why we give. The rich people gave to look good, and it didn't cost them anything. But the widow gave because she loved God, and she gave everything she had, trusting Him to take care of her. God loves it when we give cheerfully and trust Him, whether we give a little or a lot. It's not about the amount - it's about the love and faith in our hearts. The widow's tiny gift was huge to God because she gave it with complete trust and love!