I Surrender Ownership

Week 23, Tuesday

Susan Lafferty

Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:43-44 (hcsb)

In the pages of Scripture, this is a story of legacy from the least likely. According to verse 41, many rich people were putting large sums of money into the temple treasury, their generosity and wealth on prominent display. Then along came this woman. She was a widow—poor and insignificant, obscure, perhaps hidden in the shadows. She held two small, very thin coins in her hand. These were all that she owned; yet she placed both of them in the temple coffers.

The Master was watching and when He singled her out in that moment of absolute surrender, the “least of these” became an example for all. Through the centuries, her story has been told in the palaces of kings and in the humblest of homes. No matter how much or how little one has, giving all is not an easy path to walk.

Have you ever found yourself at the altar over “stuff”? I have moved a few times in my life—sometimes it’s been across the ocean and other times across town. It never gets easier. In the throes of sorting and packing and selling and giving away I often find myself at that altar, looking at all that I have and asking, “What if the Lord asks me to give all of this away? Am I willing?” Saying “All that I have belongs to the Lord” is easy. Practicing that surrender on a daily basis is the hard part. The rich young ruler “had many possessions,” the Bible says (Matthew 19:22, hcsb) and he couldn’t let go.

Lord, thank You for providing all that I need and beyond. I relinquish ownership, for all of it belongs to You. Give me the heart of that widow who quietly, without fanfare, gave it all to You. She could have held on tight to so little, even as the young ruler held on tight to so much—but she didn’t. Use what I have for Your glory and Your kingdom. Amen.