Sometimes when there is something you really want to do, a cost is involved. Sometimes that cost can cause us to reconsider, and sometimes it can be discounted because we are so keen to pursue whatever it is.
I have two small grandsons (aged 4 and 7). I don’t see them as much as I would like, so when I do get the opportunity, I am in my car and off like a shot to be with them. It costs time, often readjusting schedules and cancelling other plans, or putting off something else, or someone else! Then, in our current economic climate, there’s the cost of petrol to consider, but because I want to be with them, play with them, read to them, and just simply hang out with them, I will make it happen. Just being with them is all that matters. I treasure them and the time I get to spend with them, so much. It’s valuable for all of us. We build on and cement our relationship, as we play and participate in activities and adventures together. It’s a precious thing. A blessing.
In John 12: 1-3 we read the story of Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. All three are at a dinner to honour Jesus and possibly to celebrate His raising of Lazarus.
While Jesus sat, Mary removed her head wear and undid her hair. This totally was not kosher. Women did not unbraid their hair in mixed company. There would have been some frowning and “Tut Tutting” going on among the guests, and some very critical remarks perhaps whispered behind hands held over mouths.
Then Mary took a perfume, a very expensive perfume, a perfume put aside to anoint a body for burial and opened it as she knelt before Jesus.
Imagine everyone at the dinner watching what was about to happen, as the fragrance of that perfume began to float on the air, once the cork was removed from the bottle. Then Mary poured it out over the feet of Jesus, she massaged it in, anointing His feet. Bending low before Him she took her hair and began to wipe His feet with it, spreading the fragrance of the nard as she did so.
By now there would have been several critics, and John tells us that Judas was one of the most outspoken ones. Of course, his objection was thinly disguised as a concern for the poor, whom he did not care about at all!
Getting back to Mary……What did it cost her to worship her Lord and Saviour in this way?
It cost her, her dignity, her reputation, her standing among her peers. Her actions of removing her headwear and unbraiding her hair in mixed company brought criticism from her friends. Then they were shocked that she could waste such an expensive perfume by pouring it out over someone’s feet!
It cost her the expense of a jar of nard, possibly her most valuable possession. A bottle of pure nard cost a year’s wages.
YET: This extravagant act of worship demonstrated that Mary knew the exalted worth of her Saviour. Mary’s costly sacrifice revealed that her heart treasured Jesus.
Mary wanted to be with Jesus, more than anything else. She treasured her time with Him. Whether she knew that He was on the path to the cross at this moment in time, is not clear, but what is clear, is that her actions aligned with Gods will regarding Jesus’s impending death. Mary may not have realized the significance of her costly worship, but they pointed to Gods plan – Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross.
Many of us may face costs to follow Jesus. We may lose friends or family because of our choice to follow Him, or we may give up certain practises or traditions etc.
But what about worship?
What does it cost us to worship?
Do we want to be with Him more than anything else?
Do we risk the denial, criticism, and rebuke of others so we can sit at His feet?
Do we treasure Him in our hearts, as Mary did. Do we exalt Him above everything else, and give Him all we have, and all we are?
Perhaps its time to reflect on this.
Blessings
Carole