One of the kickers about even the low level cure spells is that they are amazing bandages. Massive ongoing issues are stabilized and natural healing can begin. That's HUGE. Also if at the end of the day the cleric has two cure light wound spells and they are going to be invalidated at the end of the day the cleric can gain in the society he/she lives in by using the spell for societal gain (and the society thus comes to see the cleric as a greater asset to the community which is then honored by access to decision making bodies, attendance at church functions etc).

Hell, it makes perfect sense for an evil church of certain stripes to give out healing this way in order to promote its stature in a community (especially a new one)