There are certainly more than 144,000 people going to heaven. Revelation is written in symbolic language, and that number is a multiple of 12 – the tribes of Israel – and signifies wholeness or completeness. Our attention should be drawn to the new song that they were singing before the throne of God. It is the new song that we will all sing when we are reborn in Christ. The old will be left behind while the ‘new' will be filled with purpose and meaning.

The poor widow's mite in the Gospel tells us a new meaning and purpose of giving, not in magnified quantity. A billionaire can donate a huge amount of money and not even feel it. A poor person can donate a very small amount and have to skip meals to make up for it. It is not the amount that we give – either in money or in other assistance – that matters, but what it costs us. Did we feel the ‘pinch?' Did we give with love and a desire to help, or out of a sense of duty or obligation? Were we trying to impress others? The widow in the parable that Jesus taught gave from all that she had, and her gift was pleasing in God's eyes. Let us not measure and evaluate according to human benchmarks. God uses very different values in weighing our spiritual progress – God uses the value of love.