Reckless Abandon

(From my email to the girls this evening, thoughts laid on my heart in these late, quiet hours.)

Tonight, I'm reading from Matthew 26 through 28.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,
and she poured it on his head as he reclined at the table.
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?  

For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? 

For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.
Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,
what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Here are a few thoughts for you to ponder about this woman and her love for her Lord. Her name was Mary (identified in John 12:3, the sister to Martha and Lazarus). Already a close friend to Jesus, Mary here takes a flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and anoints Jesus with it as a demonstration of her love for him.

If you were to give a gift like this, you would spend over a year's wages. Who does a thing like that?

She understood that there wasn't much time left with Jesus. His death was imminent, and although she didn't know any more than the disciples knew about upcoming events, she sensed that the time was drawing short, and she didn't want to miss an opportunity to shower pure, humble, grateful love and honor on her her Savior. The disciples, however, missed the urgency of the hour and complained about what a waste all that oil was! Look at it now--gone. It could have been sold, and just imagine how many good deeds could have been done for the poor people with the money! What a waste. They missed the point. Entirely.

There is no gift too costly, no attention too lavish, no devotion too extreme for Jesus. The disciples, well-intentioned, were blind to what was right before their eyes. Mary had eyes to see and ears to hear. Who knows how much she gave up to get that oil for Jesus. And while anointing might seem strange to us, in that culture it was a symbol of honor, devotion, highest esteem, purity, holiness, being set apart, etc. etc. How fitting.

Oh, sweet girls! If only we could be like Mary, and love Jesus with such reckless abandon that nothing seemed too grand to give him, but rather, all we have to offer seems too small in comparison to his grace which he has given to us. How can we give him any less than everything?

But notice this: Mary was no more pious than you or I. She was born a sinner too. How did she get that infectious love for Jesus? By being with him. By spending time at his feet, gazing at his face, soaking up his every word. She immersed herself in him, and the love that filled her soul and burst out in glorious acts of devotion was a direct result of spending time with her Savior. So must you and I do. We cannot expect to be spiritually minded if we allot a mere fifteen minutes to Jesus several times a week. We must be drenched, saturated, mind and soul, drowned in his words of righteous truth. We must shut out the world from our mind, sweep it clean and fill it with his voice. Then we can love him as we have not yet loved him.

Goodnight, dear ones. If the Lord returns before tomorrow, then I will see you at his feet. If not, I will see some of you among his people, his bride, his beloved Church, tomorrow as we worship together.