“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
–Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)

Have you ever thought you were only one person, with very little to give the rest of the world? The widow in this story probably thought the same thing. All she had to give was less than two pennies, but she gave it all to Jesus anyway, and he declared her humble contribution the most valuable of all.

The Bible tells of another example of a humble giver. There was once a little boy whose mother packed him a lunch of five loaves of bread and two small fish before he left home for the day. You may know how the rest of this story goes. Jesus Christ happened to be preaching to several thousand people that day, and this little boy was among the crowd.

After a few hours, Jesus’ disciples told their master that all those people were getting pretty hungry. Of course there weren’t any McDonald’s restaurants nearby, so the disciples had to come up with some way to feed everyone.

By this time, I believe that little boy was thinking, “I’d really like to help Jesus in any way I can, but I only have enough food for one person, and there are thousands of people here! Then again, I’m about to give my lunch to the son of God. If anyone can help me feed all these people, He can.”
So the boy got the attention of one of Jesus’ disciples, and he offered to contribute his lunch to the cause.

I’m pretty sure that disciple inwardly mocked the little boy. All he had to give were five English muffin-sized loaves, and two tiny sardine-sized fish. But Jesus’ disciple gave that scant amount of food to Christ anyway. Jesus thanked God for the food, and asked His blessing upon it.

I’m certain the little boy was completely amazed by what happened next. Thanks to Jesus’ blessing, there seemed to be no end to the amount of food that was being passed around by the disciples. There was enough bread and fish to feed those thousands of people. Everyone was completely stuffed by the time the disciples’ proverbial food line finally closed down.

The little boy had even fed all of Jesus’ disciples. Each of them collected a large basket of bread and fish for himself after everyone else had eaten. I bet all the boy could think was, “Wow! Did my little brown-bag lunch really help Jesus that much?”

There are times in our lives when we all feel like that little boy did when he got the chance to help Jesus. We all doubt our abilities, and we wonder if our work or our ministries to God will make any difference at all. I believe that if you ask God’s blessing on your work at least once a day, He will take you farther than you ever thought possible.

Now when I say this, I’m not implying that God will make you rich and famous overnight. In fact, recognition for your gifts may be slow in coming. But God has promised to bless the work which we do for His glory, and in His name instead of our own. Sometimes you may get discouraged by how slowly things appear to be going, but if you keep praying and asking God to bless your work and your actions here on Earth, He will always hear and answer your prayers.

So if you don’t know Him intimately yet, I hope you will humbly ask Jesus into your heart so that He can pour out His loving blessings upon you. Give Jesus whatever you can give, and He will greatly multiply your offerings.

Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.hcmachaplains.org and click on the Donate Now link. You can also send donations by mail to HCMA (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association). Our ID number is 560. The address is 377 E. Chapman Ave., Suite 260, Placentia, CA 92870. Finally, check out our online store at www.amway.com/burdicksbargains.

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