PASSAGE: Mark 14:3-9 ~ "While He [Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came w/an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar & 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 & 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 for me. The poor you will always have w/you, & 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. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.'" [emphasis, mine ~ KW<><]
LESSON LEARNED: I love how Jesus treats this woman. We find in Luke 7:36-50 that this woman was a very sinful woman & just her mere presence & the fact that she touched Jesus was looked upon as a social scandal. I lived a very sinful life before the Lord so graciously saved my soul & turned me around on May 20th, 1982, when I was 23 years old.
Jesus understood that in this woman pouring out her very expensive jar of perfume, in doing that "beautiful thing" to Him, she was pouring out her most precious possession onto the most precious Person to ever live. To quote our Lord, "She did what she could." ...I do what I can. Especially in this last year, since my dear husband was laid off in April of '09 & he has only been able to find temp work, we've spent our savings which was supposed to be start-up money for our dream of a bulk food store (Marmee's Pantry) & I have had to go back to work outside the home. I do what I can.
I do what I can by trying to live my life as a REAL Christian, no sugar-coating; real Christians deal w/real issues in this fallen world. Understanding, & demonstrating that you can still have the JOY of the Lord even when times aren't necessarily 'happy'. I try to spread the sweet, savory fragrance of the Lord's presence wherever I go. I try to use my blog as an encouragement to my readers to live for the Lord; & in that, if I can lovingly humble myself & get out of my dear husband's way so that he can be the man & leader of our home that he was created to be, if we can raise our children the best way the Lord has shown us to raise them (& even step aside & let them make some of their own mistakes), if I can homeschool successfully yet cheaply, if I can learn to cook from scratch, if I can learn to live a furgal lifestyle, if I can learn to be satisfied w/the blessings that the Lord has given us & not 'worry' about the blessings He's given others but to celebrate them ... then anyone reading this can, too. I do what I can.
The other lesson I've learned & had never considered about this passage was revealed to me when I was attending Seminary. Remember that this expensive perfume was poured all over Jesus' head & dripped & ran down his entire body. The fragrance filled the Upper Room during His last Passover supper. Jesus, Himself, said, "She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare for My burial." Jesus KNEW He was about to die & when Jesus was arrested in the garden, when He was stripped of His clothes, when he was beaten to w/in an inch of His life, while He carried the heavy cross-beam to Golgatha, while He hung on the cross ~ for YOU & for ME! ~ the sweet, pungent fragrance of that perfume, her act of love, clung to Him the whole way...even to the tomb. "She did what she could," & her love gift to THE Savior earned her honor "wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world."
I have no illusions of grandeur, I know that I will never be written about in any books...except one...the only one that really matters...The Lamb's Book of Life. Maybe it will say, "She did what she could."
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Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><
oh Kim, I am in tears! What a beautiful testimony~! You do what you can! And it has blessed my heart so many times! You have led me to the Lord in times when I was hurt. In times I was needing encouragement and honest knowledge of the good and the ugly of homeschooling a child with special needs. You led me to the Lord when I just needed a friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being such a woman of God that you do all you can to lift up Jesus and lead us to Him :) May He take your humble heart of ministry to others and indoing so, an act of worship to Jesus, may He take that heart of true worship and multiply your influence. May He expand your length of the sphere of people you touch because you do all you can to Lift Up Jesus!
Well spoken, Kim. I enjoyed your blog today, great thoughts on God's word from your own personal experience. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe still have you and Ty on our prayer list. Praying God grants Ty work in an area he loves - soon.
In Him,
Connie
Awesome thoughts on our Savior. I personally don't know what I would do if I didn't have great faith in Christ. Right now my brother is in and Intensive Care Unit in Las Vegas. I am so grateful for prayer and the knowledge that I can reach out at any time and pray. This life wasn't meant to be easy and through the years some of the most poignant blessings have come through adversity. Blessing to you! LeAnn
ReplyDeleteDearest Kim, I'm so thankful that you left me a comment today because it led me back to you and your blog! What a wonderful post you have and I love knowing that you were close to the Harris family as well. I am joining you as a follower because I see His love and life shining through all your words and leading others to the foot of the cross.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you.
Noreen