I never cease to be amazed at the people Jesus put forward as role models. He said children were role models for trust (Mark 10:15); He presented a “sinful woman” as a role model for love (Luke 7:47); He no doubt scandalized His Jewish friends when He suggested a pagan soldier was a role model for faith (Luke 7:1-9). So when Jesus gave His followers a role model for generosity, He again chose the unexpected.

After some intense debates with the religious elite, Jesus was resting near the Court of the Women in the Jewish temple. Along the court’s colonnade stood 13 trumpet-shaped collection boxes, into which money was received for the temple’s needs. Jesus watched the rich throwing in their large donations. Then He observed a poor widow dropping in two lepta coins. That’s when He called His disciples together for a lesson.

“I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions” (Mark 12:43). In literal terms this was incorrect. The lepta was the smallest valued coin of the day, amounting to one-128th of a denarius (a day’s wage). Jesus was clearly calculating value on different terms. Her offering was grand, He said, because while others gave their spare change, she gave “everything she had to live on” (Mark 12:44).

What a role model this widow is! How many of us truly give sacrificially—down to the last few cents that we own? Most of the time I hardly miss the money I give to others or place in the offering at church. I resemble the rich people Jesus was watching, not the radically generous widow.

True generosity costs something. It leaves us vulnerable, with arms outstretched to God, who alone can meet our needs. Just like a poor, humble widow.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: John 15:17–16:4