It's Me Again God 2

12. The Alabaster Jar

It's me again God,

The journey has begun! I have stepped into this new year filled with possibilities, knowing that You are with me always, ready for You to teach and guide me. I start the year knowing how blessed I am because You sent Jesus into the world to die for my sin and bring me back to You my Father but I feel You drawing me deeper. It's one thing to love Jesus because of what He has done for me but I sense that this year I need to love Him for who He is, to sit in awe and wonder as I just consider His majesty —to be moved to action by all I see in Jesus.

There was a woman who did just that, her name was Mary, the sister of Martha. She demonstrated her love and devotion for Jesus in such an extravagant way:

"While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.

"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.""
‭‭Mark‬ ‭14:3-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Oh what a beautiful picture of sacrificial love! While it was the custom of the day to anoint the head of a guest with oil, this woman went much further! She poured the entire contents of an alabaster jar of very costly, precious perfume on Jesus' head! Mary had listened to Jesus as He spoke on a number of occasions and seemed to have a special understanding of who He was and what He was about to go through. His own disciples didn't want to accept that He would soon die and their response to Mary's act of extravagant love and devotion reinforce this idea.

The disciples saw the act of love as a 'waste' of resources but You Jesus had received this gift in an entirely different way —You saw it as a 'beautiful thing'! You received Mary's extravagant gift of love knowing the heart that had given it.

I am so touched by this story that I will probably look at it again tomorrow because I feel You have a lot to say to me but just for now I want to sit at Your feet and consider Jesus' majesty as I did many years ago when I would sing this song in church:

Majesty, worship His majesty
Unto Jesus, be glory, honor and praise
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flows from His throne, unto His own, His anthem raise

So exalt, lift up on high the Name of Jesus
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King
Majesty, worship His majesty
Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings

In His Name,
Amen.