He placed his offering in the plate.

A large gift.

Enough to fix many problems in the church building.

Enough to help several ministries.

He was proud of his ability to be such a key player in the congregation.

"How could they survive without me?"  he thought to himself.

But his heart was cold and indifferent.

And Jesus looked away.

She snuck her small token of love under the large stack of bills,

hoping no one would notice her seemingly insignificant gift.

Pocket change to many.

The world to her.

Not enough to even replace a door knob.

Not enough to feed a missionary one small meal.

"I wish I had more to give," she whispered under her breath.

Her heart was filled with humility and thanksgiving as she gave the last of her money to the One who had brought Hope to her hard, cruel world.

And Jesus smiled at her offering.

Do you want Jesus to notice you?

Do you want Him to smile when you give of yourself, your talents, and your heart?

Here's the irony of the story.

The lady above wasn't thinking about being noticed.

She was thinking about Jesus.

We live in a world where moving up the ladder often means impressing someone or knowing more than someone else.

In Jesus' eyes the opposite is true.

He doesn't need your money or your skill.

He longs for your love.

He doesn't need to be impressed by you.

He longs to be cherished by you.

If you want Jesus to notice you,

stop trying to get His attention.

Just love Him.

Adore Him.

Praise Him.

Give out of love because of everything He has done for you.

Jesus doesn't need your money.

He needs your heart.

When you feel like you've given all you can give and

you find yourself empty and broken,

smile and give of yourself anyway.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.

He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.

"Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Luke 21:1-4