GIVING
In Mark 12:41, we read that Jesus sat down and watched as rich people cast large gifts into the temple treasury. Then a widow came and dropped in two coins--the smallest in circulation at that time. Knowing that this was all the money she had, Jesus said to His disciples, "This poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury" (v.43).
Jesus wasn't implying that we must give away all our money. Rather, He was saying that we must give from a heart that is totally devoted to the Lord and willing to trust Him fully. That's the kind of giving that pleases God.
WE CAN GIVE WITHOUT LOVING,
BUT WE CAN'T LOVE WITHOUT GIVING.
A man walking through the forest saw a fox that had lost its legs, and he wondered how it lived. Then he saw a tiger come up with game in its mouth. The tiger ate its fill and left the rest of the meat for the fox.
The next day God fed the fox by means of the same tiger. The man began to wonder at God's greatness and said to himself, "I too shall just rest in a corner with full trust in the Lord and he will provide me with all that I need."
He did this for many days but nothing happened, and he was almost at death's door when he heard a voice day, "O you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Stop imitating the disabled fox and follow the example of the tiger."
Spirituality of Imperfection, Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Kethcam;
page 93, paragraphs 4-6