Note from the Board – Rod Robison
Note from the Board: Little Is Much
Several years ago, I walked where Jesus walked. Literally. It was my first time in Jerusalem. Our guide, an orthodox Jew who knew his Bible far better than most Christians, took us to numerous locations most of us on the tour had only read about. The Mount of Olives, The Garden of Gethsemane, the hall in which Pilate condemned Jesus, the temple marketplace where Jesus threw out the money changers. Each location, for years only words on a page to me, now sprang to life.
One of the most meaningful locations for me was tucked away on the east side of the Temple Mount, the huge earthen platform on which the Temple once stood overlooking Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside. Our guide pointed to the spot where a poor, unassuming widow made a tiny gift to God. We know her gift today as the “widow’s mite.” She made no pretense of her gift as others parading before her had proudly done. She just quietly dropped into the temple treasury her two copper coins, worth very little to most, but representing great sacrifice for her. She then humbly went on her way.
I doubt that she knew Jesus was watching. Perhaps if she did, she would have been embarrassed. Little did she know the impact her seemingly insignificant gift would make on the world. But her simple act of giving – her sacrifice – served as a powerful lesson in stewardship for millions of people spanning two millennia.
The lesson: Little is much when God is in it. The size of our gifts to Him are of no consequence. If they represent our best, He is pleased. Just as He multiplied a small boy’s simple lunch on a hillside overlooking the sea of Galilee to feed thousands of hungry followers, He will take our sacrificial gifts to Him and increase their value a thousand-fold and more as they are invested in the lives of others.
God is using Unite 4 Africa to multiply your gifts thousands of times over in the lives He touches through your generosity. Orphans. Widows. School children. Victims of abuse. Those in need of healing both physically and spiritually. Families and communities thirsty for clean, accessible water and the “water springing up into everlasting life.”
While in Israel I purchased an ancient mite that had been unearthed. It serves as a reminder to me of its powerful lesson. I’ve read that had the widow’s mites been invested at just 4% interest, today they would be worth four sextillion, eight quintillion dollars. That’s $48 with twenty zeros after it. If an earthly bank can do that much with two tiny copper coins, just think what God can do through eternity if we give our best to Him.
Rod Robison
Unite 4 Africa
Board Vice Chairman