I have always been struck by the story of Mary coming in while Jesus and the others were eating, and pouring a jar of perfume on His feet and then wiping it with her hair. We could compare it to how people act toward a high government official or someone who is famous except for the fact that He truly deserved her sacrifice, AND He returned her love for Him fully. But the most intriguing part of the story to me is when He says, “…wherever the good news is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Wow! Wherever – in the whole world?! That’s a lot!So, my wondering is, what are we doing now that will be told “in memory of us”? And more importantly, what are we doing to help people see Jesus that will be told in memory of us? Mary’s devotion to Jesus was obvious – she poured a year’s salary on His feet. What are we pouring on Jesus feet? Is it obvious by the things we do – and say – that we adore and are fully devoted to Jesus? What drives our schedule, our calendar – it is love for something or someone – but the question is: is it love for Jesus that drives everything we do?
The statement was made in the sermon at Central on Sunday that “everyone longs to see Jesus, whether they know it or not.” Genesis 1:27 says that “we are made in His image” – made like Him, made to need Him. So are we living in a way that our friends who are “longing to see Jesus” can easily see and learn about Jesus from? Are we a clean window that people can clearly look through to see Jesus? Or are we a door that is an obstacle in the way of people seeing Jesus?
I fear that sometimes we are more like the people that Jesus drove out of the temple in Mark 11:17 than we are like Mary. We are in the “right” places, “looking like” we’re helping people, but instead of showing our love for Jesus (pouring everything at His feet), we are only serving our own selfish interests. When we do that, we become a barrier that blocks the magnetic pull that Jesus naturally has on people. We need to look daily at our motives and ask God to make our only agenda in this world to “Love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love others as you love yourself”, clearing the path for those that we are around so that Jesus can “draw them to Himself”.
What will be told in memory of you?
Tammy Beck
growinggodskingdomdotlive 