1. In Mark 12:30, the Savior said, “thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all they strength: this is the first commandment.” This widow from
this parable showed that she loved God with all her heart, and was willing to
give everything she had to Him. James E. Talmage said, “The rich gave much yet kept back more; the widow's gift was her all.
It was not the smallness of her offering that made it especially acceptable,
but the spirit of sacrifice and devout intent with which she gave.” The widow
showed her devotion to Christ by sacrificing everything she had. Even though it
wasn’t very much, she gave all that she could.
2. Mark 12:44 says, “For all
they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that
she had, even all her living.” The wealthier people gave more, but they also
had a lot more to begin with. They did not sacrifice nearly as much as the
widow did. She gave 100% of what she had, and they gave a much smaller
percentage of what they had. I think this teaches that an acceptable offering
to the Lord is one where we sacrifice for Him. That could mean that we make a
financial sacrifice, or that we sacrifice our time or our talents for Him. For
example, when we read the scriptures five minutes before we go to bed, and
we’re falling asleep as we read, that’s not much of a sacrifice. On the other
hand, if we set aside an hour of our time to read the scriptures, even though
we’re busy, that will mean so much more to God because we’re showing Him that
we love Him enough to make a small sacrifice for Him. 2 Nephi 25:23 teaches us
that we must do all that we can to follow Christ, but ultimately it is only
through His grace that we are saved. It’s so important to do our very best and
do all that we can to show that we love Him.
3. I could better follow the
widow’s example of sacrifice and obedience by doing better at making the gospel
the focus of my life. I need to do better at sacrificing my time to read the
scriptures, pray, and think about the Savior. Right now I know I’m not giving
my all. I can commit to doing better so that I can show the Savior how much I
really love Him and how grateful I am for everything He has done for me.
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