Why Giving What You Have is Enough
- Kendra Broekhuis Author
- Updated Mar 06, 2019
God has equipped me with exactly what I need to accomplish His will. He can still do great things with whatever I am able to offer up in worship.
I think about that boy and his five loaves of bread and two fish (Matt. 14:13-21). What if he hadn’t brought them forward when Jesus had a hungry, megachurch congregation to feed? What if he had decided to be a little punk and say, “Well, that’s extremely lame! Five measly loaves and two scrawny fish? I wanted to be able to give more, to feed all five thousand! All by myself!” First, that’s just absurd. Second, the boy would have missed out on an opportunity to share in Christ’s miraculous demonstration of His power. It may have been a humble offering, but did that make the outcome any less effective, any less miraculous?
Jesus again emphasized the concept of “give what you have” to His disciples as they watched people present their offerings at the temple:
Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything— all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)
I can’t always give a lot, but that is no excuse to keep from giving. I can always give what I have, right now, in this moment, and trust God to provide the rest. My time, my money, my talents, and when I’m really feeling it, my mojo. Some days it might be enough to buy two loads of laundry and feed five thousand; other days it might be less.
I stuck the five quarters in the washing- machine slot and weighted the sticky note with a Tide detergent pod. Throughout the rest of the morning I kept the promise I wrote on the sticky note. I prayed this gift would bless whoever needed it most in our building, and for the discovery to be timed in a special way that would point him or her to Jesus. Maybe I was expecting too much out of five quarters and a Tide detergent pod, but I figured if they weren’t meant for performing some sort of miracle, at least someone else in our apartment building might appreciate not having to mine for quarters in order to wash his or her laundry.
I gave what I had that day, but I probably learned even more. The funny thing is that the quarters probably were not mine. Chances are they came from a butter tub of quarters my dad gave us when he learned we had to do coin laundry in our new apartment building. And the Tide detergent pod definitely wasn’t mine— or at least not originally. My mom gave me a huge box of them when we moved. (My parents, I love them. Also, they think we’re poor.)
But isn’t that the perfect reflection of what giving is? Is anything I give actually mine? No, what I give is never my own, what I share is never from what I have created or collected or earned or harbored for myself. What I give is always an overflow of the gifts and the love I have been given in Christ.
I didn’t know what the impact of five quarters, a Tide detergent pod, and a sticky note would be. While He is able, I didn’t expect God to multiply it into five thousand loads of laundry. But even when I have nothing left to give, I always have a prayer to pray. I can pray it will make a difference in someone’s day, pray it will point him or her to Christ, pray it will encourage.
I can pray the Lord will speak into my heart again tomorrow, pray I will be paying close enough attention to hear Him.
Kendra Broekhuis and her husband, Collin, married and moved to Guatemala to teach at a Christian school after Kendra graduated from college in 2011. Currently residing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she is mother to Jocelyn. Kendra now desires to be an encourager to all women honest enough to admit their struggles and celebrate their greatest joys in raising Christ’s littlest disciples. Visit Kendra's Blog: http://www.kendrabroekhuis.com/blog.
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