God never asks for anything less than everything, and in his mercy, never asks for more. He remembers our frame, our dustiness is never hidden from His eyes. A widow’s mite and a sower’s seed are both limited by physical and temporal “smallness,” as are the widow and the sower themselves. All four are finite creatures, and more humbling than finitude, the widow and the sower are both fallen, both sinfully natured and habitually inclined toward sin.
But He places the mite in the widow’s hand and asks, “What will you give?” She gives everything and He asks nothing more. He did not ask for two mites. She gave her fortune, little and limited as it was, and God smiled as He smelled the redolent savor of her sacrifice. What did God do with a penny? I haven’t any clue, but I trust it was something great. He has made it a habit of doing grand and glorious things with the seemingly scant offerings of His creatures.
God knows you’re little. God made you that way, and out of his infinite mercy, He placed His own image within you. You are created, but the one whose image you bear is not. He asks you today, “What will you give?” He wants you to give everything, and will never ask for more than that. He knows your frame. He remembers you are dust.
What about the sower of seed? The farmer loves the earth and the bounty of the earth. Any sower sows in faith. Who would broadcast these dead vessels of future life without believing they can live again, and bear fruit five, ten, and one-hundred fold? Which farmer commands the clouds to spill their liquid life and then depart again to reveal the sun? Which farmer believes he can command the seasons or the stars? Doubt-filled farmers will not remain in that line of work for long. Farming takes faith. And the faithful farmer sows expecting good things in return.
God has given you a parcel of earth to tend. It may be dirt, seed, and crop, but it may not. To an author he has given paper, ink, and words—and a readership. To a teacher he has given books, lessons, and curricula—and a class. To a mother he has given a home, a hearth, and a heart—and children. To a lawyer he has given a legal code, a conference room, and a library—and clients. To each one us, he has given tools, skills, and experience—and the people around us who need us.
Like the sower of seed, you only have so much you can give today and a limited number of people to give it to. God asks for no more than you have to give, but if you hold some back in doubt, like extra manna, it will rot before sunrise tomorrow. You always have just the right amount of seed for today’s field. When the bag is empty, the field is sufficiently sown; if seeds remain, there is work left to do.
And like the widow, you have everything at your disposal that God has placed at your disposal. He only wants to bless you as you give it all, and never asks for a penny more than you have to give. He knows your frame. He remembers that you are dust.
