“Before you leave, I have something to give you,” Mrs. E said, pulling me aside as the volunteers were finishing up their work. She held a roll of quarters in her hands. “I gathered these, and I know it’s not a lot, but I wanted to give Servants something for helping me.”
Our work hadn’t been difficult; in fact, it was a simple appliance drop-off. Her oven had stopped working a few weeks earlier and we had a used one in our warehouse that we dropped off for her. As Mrs. E handed me the coins, the weight of her gift struck me. Forty quarters may not seem significant to you or I, but when you’re living on a fixed income, those coins might be the difference needed to pay a utility bill or a load of laundry or a trip to the grocery store for necessities.
The parallels to the Gospel story of the Widow’s Gift are impossible to ignore. In Mark 12, the Bible says that, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” It is a powerful story, made that much more relevant when I got to witness a similarly faithful act that day with Mrs. E.
This blog typically focuses on the impact Servants has had on others, but the truth is that we are often equally impacted by our homeowners. Their stories, their attitudes, their kindness and faithfulness, especially in the midst of challenging circumstances, make the Gospel come to life and illustrate God’s love and grace in amazing ways.
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