Everyone who has met my little 4 year old grand-daughter Ava knows she is very witty at times. The things this child says and does often blow me away. Last Sunday she found a nickel on the floor after church. I told her she could keep it. What she did with it was precious and a life lesson.
We went to eat at a local restaurant. When the waitress arrived to get our drink orders Ava placed her nickel on the table and told the waitress “This is for you.” The waitress seemed a bit stunned and said “Thank you” but left the nickel laying there. When we left it was still there.
It was later that night when the life lesson hit me. Why was Ava so willing to give her nickel before she ate? Because she did not depend on her nickel to provide her lunch for her. She depended on her father to do so. The past had proven that he always had.
It reminded me of the story in the twelfth chapter of Mark. Jesus watches as a widow drops into the offering box all she has, two small Hebrew coins that equaled the least amount of a Roman coin. The reason she did so was because she did not depend on this small amount that in reality could not purchase anything. She depended on her heavenly Father who proved himself faithful for her provision.
Man, how we clutch our money. God’s desire is to prove himself faithful in every life. But He can’t because we trust more in our abilities and money than we do in him. And we prove this to be fact by clutching what we consider to be a sure thing.
It’s almost 2016. Why not let this be the year you trust him? Why not let this be the year you give him the opportunity to prove himself faithful? Why not let this be the year you leave your nickel on the table?