God wants all that we have to give. He wants us to suffer for His sake. Now, don't misunderstand. God doesn't want us to be miserable, but He does want it to cost something to follow Him. How much do we value things that we are just given? We don't think twice about the air that we breathe or the water that we drink because we have a near ubiquitous supply, but what about a person in the middle of Africa where this is no drinking water? Or an astronaut on a spacewalk that has to rely solely on his equipment? Suddenly, the things that mean so little to us have become a great value to them.
The gift of eternal life is just that: a gift. But the relationship that comes along with it takes all of our effort to work through. The rich in the temple gave lots and lots of their wealth to God, and I'm sure that it was appreciated by God and the priests, but the widow who had nothing gave relatively nothing from a monetary standpoint, but she gave everything that she had to the relationship. She trusted that God would use her offering to provide for her when she couldn't provide for herself. The rich, on the other hand, almost make it look like God depends on them for survival. They've got it quite backward.
When you give to God, are you giving all of yourself and trusting Him to protect and care for you? Or are you giving from a place of security and treating God as if He needs you more than you need Him?
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