"Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, annointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil."
This, out of all the stories in the Bible, has always been my favorite story. It's only 8 verses long and yet, to me, was the most impacting. When I was little, I used to think how lucky Mary was to have the privilege of annointing Jesus' feet. Now I see the story from a whole new perspective. See, Mary wasn't your typical "Proverbs 31" woman. She came with a lot of history. She came with a lot of pain. She came with a almost "stay away sign" that most people had put on her. To her, Jesus was truly a savior. She longed to please Him- not to be seen, but show her gratitude. She could not find enough words to show him, so she used the one thing she could think of that would honor him. And she made history. Her act has inspired many songs, many poems, and hymns. But her act has more importantly, inspired me. At many times I find myself at that point where I'm surrounded with people who look on and doubt, where I'm too scared to even come to Him because I fear rejection. It's hard to ignore those comments. "Here we go again". "What happened now?". "Who does she think she is?". Walking towards Jesus was Mary's first step. She had to ignore the comments. She had to get past the faces. She had to focus on Jesus. Presenting the oil was the second step. Present your oil to God. In worship. In prayer. In offering. In poems. Whatever it is, don't let anyone put a "standard" to your fragrant offering. It's from your heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Third, she poured the oil on his feet. No one has to understand, because it's between you and God. Mary blocked out everyone who was in the room and poured out the most expensive thing she had. You don't need expensive oil to please God. But what you do with your time- offer it to Him. Spend hours in His presence and He will give you songs, poems, even ideas! Present it to Him as a fragrant offering.
Now comes my favorite part of verse 3. "And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the oil". Jesus wasn't the only one who received the sweet aroma of her offering. Others did too. They smelled what Jesus smelled. When you present your fragrant offer to God, it impacts others, whether you realize it or not.
I want my offering to be fragrant. Not only to God, but to those who surround me. That I may impact others by my actions. That I may fill the house with "fragrance of my oil" in everything that I do. In every song I sing. In every poem I write. In every child I work with. In everything that I do. I want to be like Mary and not care who surrounds me, but focus on Him. My savior, redeemer, and King. My Jesus.
shaaaaaaaabaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
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