Treasure in the eyes of God who owns everything
What kind of God is He who, owning everything, would choose…these things?
Through the body of a young Jewish woman was how the God of the universe chose to entered our world.
Just a woman. Unmarried. She had barely left her father’s home.
It was not through chariots or fanfare that Jesus made His entrance, but through the arms of a young Jewish family.
Just newbies, the two of them. Awkwardly lodging in a make-shift shelter, roommates with the beasts and the fowl.
It must’ve been dim that noel night. No running water. The stickiness of blood mixed with the smell of feces and fodder.
What kind of God is He who, owning everything, would choose…these things? What is real treasure in God’s eyes?
Roughly 30 years after His birth in a stable, Jesus, through an encounter with another young Jewish woman, saw treasure.
Just a woman. Unnamed. Kneeling down to anoint Jesus, she had barely had the chance to speak before others in the room surrounded and chastised her. What a waste, they said of her act of worship.
But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”
“And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
What kind of God is He who, owning everything, would delight in an act of simple yet extravagant worship? This woman, with no mention of her name and no record of her speech, had her life memorialized alongside the gospel.
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant,” a young woman sang. “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.”
“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation,” went her noel song. “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.”
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”
Inspired by Luke 1-2 and Mark 14:3-9.
Winnie Lui is Director of Public Relations at TWU. She was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Calgary, A.B. She now resides in Langley. B.C.