...other meditations

the anointing

did you ever ask yourself the question, “what have i done for Jesus lately?” i don't ask it often probably because i'm afraid of what my heart may answer. but recently i was inspired and reminded of how one woman's deed impacted the life of Jesus and many others. i would like to share that with you.

picture this:

one evening, before He was betrayed, Jesus and His disciples went to simon the leper's house for dinner. mary, the sister of martha and lazarus had also stopped by. what happened that evening (scriptures say) will never be forgotten. during the supper, mary walked in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume. she broke the seal on the jar and began pouring it lovingly onto the head of Jesus. as she did this, the disciples witnessing the event began to rebuke her harshly. they justified their actions saying, “why this waste of perfume?” “that perfume could've been sold for a year's salary and given to the poor!” suddenly, their words were silenced when Jesus came to mary's defense…

but Jesus replied, “leave her alone. why berate her for doing such a good thing to Me? you will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. but I will not be here with you much longer. she has done what she could and has anointed My body for burial ahead of time. I assure you, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be talked about in her memory.”
mark 14:6-9 nlt

although it was customary for the jews to give gifts to the poor on the evening of passover, the disciples had missed the point. Jesus had shared with them about the coming day of His death, and mary felt very sensitive of that fact. so, she wasted no time in showing her utmost love and devotion for Her King. she seized the moment and followed through. there was no just cause for berating her; her actions were pure. Jesus welcomed her act of love for she knew His time was short.

how many times do we miss the point? even though Jesus is not with us in the flesh, we can still give Him honor and praise by how we live our lives. yet, before asking ourselves that question, “what have i done for Jesus lately?”, maybe we should first remember everything that Jesus has done for us. prayerfully, by putting it into that perspective, we can be inspired to honesty and humility and driven to expressing our love and devotion for Him.

in love and devotion,

tamara