| Wednesday of Holy Week: The Giving Widow In the middle of one of the grandest, most expensive structures of the day, surrounded by wealthy people who move by without seeing her, an unnamed woman expresses her devotion to God in the most practical way: She gives all she has to honor Him. Her gift is for the support of the temple, and it's likely her few pennies won't even pay for a worker to polish one of the temple's sets of gold candlesticks. But that doesn't matter; she is giving to God. A friend of mine named George worked for many years to build up a large real estate practice with many branch offices. One day a group of investors came to him with a proposal to buy his business. They offered an incredible amount of money, and George accepted it. On the day he received the funds, he rushed to his bank to open a new checking account. He wanted the name on the account to be "God's Account," and the banker balked at the idea. "Who'll sign the checks?" he asked. "Oh," George replied, "it's all God's money, but He's let me be the custodian, so I'll write the checks on His behalf to whomever He tells me." George, now in his fourtees, is one of the happiest people I know, despite a bout with cancer. His joy doesn't come from earthly things, but from the commitment he made long ago to dedicate his life and his possessions to the Lord. Lord, let me give to You out of my substance—be it much or little—with an eye for the needs all around me |
