Two days (Wednesday) before Jesus was arrested and killed. He was in Bethany with His disciples in Simon the leper's house. Simon must have been one of the people that Jesus healed from leprosy. While Jesus was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster vial of very costly ointment of pure nard, and she broke the vial and poured it on Jesus' head. The other disciples were indignant for wasting the expensive ointment because it cost three hundred days' worth of wages, almost equivalent to one year of salary. They claimed they could have sold the expensive ointment and given the money to the poor. The disciples had a good reason, but it was at the wrong time.
Jesus answered them, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." (Mark 14:1-9). The woman anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment to express her love, devotion, and reverence for Jesus. She offered Jesus the most precious and expensive possession she had to worship Jesus. The woman may or may not completely understand that what she did also prepared Jesus' body for his burial because no one really understood His death and resurrection, even though Jesus told them several times.
Our love, devotion, and reverence to our Lord Jesus are more important than what we can do and offer to Jesus. And we can only offer to Jesus the most precious in our life if we love Him. We need to examine our hearts to see if we love Jesus or do we follow Him only because of His blessing, protection, and provision. Suppose we only follow Jesus because of His blessings, protection, and provision. In that case, we will be disappointed and eventually walk away from Him because there will come a moment when this world is more attractive, or we will suffer and lose everything and blame Jesus. However, if we love Jesus, no matter what happens in our lives on this earth, we will continue to follow Him because of our relationship with Him. We trust that even if we suffer and lose everything, we will be with Him forever. It is not the possession we seek, but we seek relationship and closeness with God.
Ask yourself these questions: What is more important to me: Possessions, prestige, joy that I can gain in this world, or my relationship with God? Am I willing to offer Jesus my life and my most precious possession? Do I seek closeness and a relationship with God?
Write down all the worries you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, please give me the right heart before you. Please forgive me if I love myself and the things of this world more than you. May I adore and worship you with the life you have given me. Stir my heart once again to love and follow you, for the time is coming when I stand before you and see you face to face. In your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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