A great display of love

 

Sometimes we don't have adequate words to express the depth of our feelings. When the woman (Mary) anoints Jesus' head, while he is eating at the home of Simon the Leper, we see the incredible love she has for Jesus. 

"While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head." - Matthew 26:7

The depth of her gratitude is revealed in the value she places on Jesus. The jar of perfume was worth a full year's wages for the average worker. That is a lot of money to offer up as a gift to Jesus, especially as it was only to be used in a once off act. 

Mary came to understand the true 'worth' of Jesus and her generosity always challenges me to reflect on the love that I show Christ. Is my love merely in words, or does it come with a great display of love.

"Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." - 1 John 3:18

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John 12:3-6 - Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

The Coins

How much is Jesus worth to you? 

When Judas approached the chief priests and negotiated to hand Jesus over to them, we note the value he placed on Jesus' head - 30 pieces of silver. According to tradition, this was the sum of money that was needed to be paid for a slave that had been killed (Exodus 21:32). To reimburse the slave owner, a price of 30 silver coins was paid to settle the debt. 

Although we understand Judas' role in death of Jesus, it does seem incredibly sad that Judas felt that his teacher, Jesus, was worth the price of a slave. Of course, the great irony in this is that Jesus came to be a servant to all, so the actual amount of money probably didn't bother Jesus. However, it does strike a chord in my own heart, when I consider the tough question: What is Jesus worth to me? 

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So, they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. - Matthew 26:14-16

Thought: The 30 coins don't only speak to us of betrayal, but they also speak to us of value and worth!

Living in Grace

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Obsessed with myself

We live in a world where we are obsessed with ourselves. This plays itself out most clearly on social media platforms, but it is also seen in other avenues. Oscar Wilde once remarked: "Come over here and sit next to me, I am dying to tell you all about myself."

The reality is that we usually steer clear of people who are self-obsessed, because we never really feel that we are valued. Perhaps one of the reasons why people were drawn to Jesus was because he took a genuine interest in their lives and well-being. Take this encounter with Zacchaeus as an example:

"When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” - Luke 19:5

Do you know of someone who needs to feel 'valued' today?

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What I value the most

"We declare how we value God as much by our actions, by the way we treat other people, by the manner in which we do our work, as by anything we say. If however, I want to put God above all things then prayer will help to purify my motives and clarify my judgement." - Christopher Bryant

I somehow keep coming back to this understanding of faith and spirituality. If I don't match my words with appropriate actions, then I am surely disqualifying the very point I am trying to make. Jesus was the master (excuse the pun) at following up his words with his life. People knew that when he preached it was not just a good idea, but rather something he was willing to live out.

Luke 8:21 - He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practise.”

We are counted as Jesus' family when we practise what we preach.

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Waking up with this thought

Each morning we wake up with either one of the following two thoughts:

What will I reap?         OR

What will I sow?

If will either be, "What can others do for me today?"

OR "What can I do for others? How can I add value to the lives of other people?"

I pray that more and more of us will wake up thinking, planning and trying to 'sow' into the lives of others. Just remember that we may not get instant results, but God has that all in His control.

Hosea 10:12 - Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

  

2 Corinthians 9:6 - Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

 

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3 Oranges

I absolutely love this story! It speaks so clearly of what we value the most.

As we come to the 105^th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic – April 1912, there is an interesting story that comes out of that tragedy. It was reported that eleven millionaires went down on the Titanic. Major A. H. Peuchen left $300,000.00 in money, jewelry and securities in a box in his cabin. "The money seemed a mockery at that time," he later said. 

Do you want to know what he picked up on the way to jump off the ship? He told reporters later that, "I picked up three oranges instead." - Source Unknown.

In the end, he took what he needed most to survive - and he realised that money wasn't going to get him through the next few hours of his life. Everything has a value and sometimes we need a 'tragedy' to remind us of the true value of things.

As you start this week please remember that you are valuable to God. Jesus loves you so much.

John 1:14 - So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

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Worth more than that

If you popped along to your local pet store you would be able to buy a bird (like a budgie etc) for less than 100 Rand. If you were clever you could catch a sparrow in your garden and it would cost you nothing. As sad as it is to say this, these birds aren't worth much in monetary terms. And yet, these are the birds that he uses to compare humans with in Matthew 6. Jesus invites us to look at these birds and to see how content they are. They don't want for anything, because God takes care of them.

œ          Matthew 6: 26 - Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

      So, in the end, how much more valuable are we to the Lord? In Jesus' mind we are much more valuable. In fact, so much so, that He was willing to die for us. Let us be thankful that God has given us all that we need for this life and for eternity.

“All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

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Value

Reading through the Gospels I have been struck at how much Jesus Valued people. In almost every account of Jesus encountering someone, we see how he takes special care to value each person. He could have used his religious piety to shun them or to condemn them, but Jesus believed the best in them.

One of these stories is found in John 8, where there was a woman caught in adultery. Jesus restrained himself from passing the same judgement that the pharisees offered her. Instead he offers her grace, yet still corrects her life choices. Jesus knew just how to treat people - a fair mixture of love and correction.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Women, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” …. “Then neither do I condemn you?” – John 8:11

Remember today that Jesus values all people, but especially YOU.

Living in Grace

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