Every meaningful gift costs the giver something. The value of a gift is not measured by its market price but by what it costs the one who gives it. A millionaire's thousand-dollar check may cost nothing—written casually from abundance. But a widow's two mites, given from deep poverty, cost everything. When we give only from our surplus, we risk little. But when we give sacrificially, we reveal the true depth of our love.

We see this vividly in the story of the widow's mite. Jesus sat in the temple watching people bring their offerings. Wealthy donors made a show of their large gifts, pouring coins into the treasury with loud clanging that drew admiring eyes. Then a poor widow approached quietly, almost invisibly, and dropped in two small copper coins—worth less than a penny together. The rich gave much but kept more; she gave little but kept nothing. Jesus gathered His disciples and said, "This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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" (Mark 12:43-44). Her gift cost her everything—her security, her next meal, her safety net. That sacrifice made it precious beyond measure. She trusted that the God to whom she gave would provide what she needed. Her gift was not calculated or cautious but reckless in its generosity, and Jesus held it up as the standard of true giving.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to give as the widow gave—not from our surplus but from our hearts. Help us to value the cost of love more than the comfort of keeping. Show us what it means to lay down our lives for others. Amen.