The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide "A Child’s Commitment" Friday, 14 February 2014 - Read Mark 12

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide "A Child’s Commitment" Friday, 14 February  2014 - Read Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. 42 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins,[a] which equal a quadrans coin.[b] 43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, 44 for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 12:42 literally, lepta (or widow’s mites). Lepta are very small brass coins worth half a quadrans each, which is a quarter of the copper assarion. Lepta are worth less than 1% of an agricultural worker’s daily wages.
b. Mark 12:42 A quadrans is a coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius is about one day’s wages for an agricultural laborer.
All shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.--Deuteronomy 16:17 (NRSV)
I’m a pastor. I was signing letters thanking people for their financial commitments to our church when one letter caught my eye. The commitment was for 25 cents per week, which would have seemed insignificant except that it came from a first-grade child. That commitment card may have been the most important in the stack, not because of the size of the gift but because of what it meant to the giver and what it would continue to mean in the years to come. It reminded me of what my parents taught me: The first ten percent of what I earned delivering the Pittsburgh Press belonged to God. I started tithing then, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Reading that card also made me think about the future. I have no idea where the child’s path may lead. The practice of financial discipline that I see beginning with that card could someday turn into the largest pledge made to a congregation. The involvement with God’s work may lead into a life’s work that changes many people’s lives. The same day I signed that letter, a couple came to talk with me about how they might give a large gift to enable our congregation to greatly extend its ministry. The size of the two gifts differed greatly, but the spirit in which they were given was the same.--The Author-James A. Harnish (Florida, USA)
Thought for the Day: Thank God for the small gifts as much as the larger gifts.
Prayer: Dear God, teach us to give generously. Amen.
Prayer focus: To learn to tithe
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