“Mary therefore took a pound of very costly, genuine spikenard ointment, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment” John 12:3
I’d like to spend some time on this verse because it is ripe with meaning and application. We’ve considered Mary before and know quite a bit about her personality and her love for the Lord. In this verse we see that manifested in yet another way. Notice the verse says the ointment was very costly; estimated to equal almost a year’s wages. Think about the lavishness of that gift but also consider the lavishness of God’s love for you to be willing to give His own Son to die on the cross so that we might spend eternity with Him.
Consider also the fact that she wiped His feet with her hair, a dramatic demonstration of humility. She cared little for herself and much for Him.
Think about the lavishness of the Son’s love to go about the pain and agony of death just for you. Ephesians 1:7-8 says “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.”
Now consider your approach to giving to the Lord’s work. Are you willing to do that lavishly or does your Savior get the leftovers. It is my firm conviction that our top priority with those things we consider assets should be to ask what does the Lord want me to return to Him and then be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the Lord’s response to Mary’s action. In verses seven and eight we see He was pleased. I don’t think that was necessarily true because of the cost of the gift, but because of Mary’s attitude. Consider his attitude when the poor widow gave two small copper coins. He was as pleased with that as He was with the ointment (Luke 21:2-3).
We know how great is God’s love for us; how great is your love for Him.
Consider also the fact that she wiped His feet with her hair, a dramatic demonstration of humility. She cared little for herself and much for Him.
Think about the lavishness of the Son’s love to go about the pain and agony of death just for you. Ephesians 1:7-8 says “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.”
Now consider your approach to giving to the Lord’s work. Are you willing to do that lavishly or does your Savior get the leftovers. It is my firm conviction that our top priority with those things we consider assets should be to ask what does the Lord want me to return to Him and then be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the Lord’s response to Mary’s action. In verses seven and eight we see He was pleased. I don’t think that was necessarily true because of the cost of the gift, but because of Mary’s attitude. Consider his attitude when the poor widow gave two small copper coins. He was as pleased with that as He was with the ointment (Luke 21:2-3).
We know how great is God’s love for us; how great is your love for Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment