Does a Beast of Burden Care If It Has a Name? December 9, 2009
article by Paula Guest/photo by oOlemon
Listening to a missionary in from the field talk about working with the women in Nepal broke my heart. In Nepal, a woman has no value. Quite often she doesn’t even know her own name. The missionary went on, “She was probably given one at birth, but has never heard it spoken.” A woman is called, “wife of…” “daughter of…” “mother of…” She has no value other than a beast of burden, and does a beast of burden care if it has a name?
In Nepal, a woman’s only worth is in the number of sons she bears. Each son will bring home a wife – to work the fields, carry the water, cook the meals. The more sons, the more wives, the more status the mother-in-law has. A woman with no sons has no value. A widow with daughters has even less.
Listening to the story of the women as they learned to write their name, and for the first time saw themselves as having worth, was enough to break even the most callused heart.
How blessed we are to know the Creator God, who not only knows our name, but has it engraved on the palm of His hand. Each of us. It is beyond thinking. Each of us has intrinsic value, because we are created in the image of a God who knows us, and loves us.
Our value comes, not from what we accomplish. Not from what we do. Not for who we are. But from who He is.
Did you know that God thinks about you?? Another translation for the well known verse from Jeremiah “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,” is “I know the thoughts I think for you.” God is THINKING about us. EACH of us. Individually. By name.
How awesome is that??
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