Subtitle: Keep doing the good, but do it with your focus on the best, the worship of Jesus.

Excerpt: Keep doing the good, but do it with your focus on the best, the worship of Jesus.

Author: Rich Holt

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from John 12:3, ” Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Background

It’s the beginning of the week of Passover, and the buzz around town is beginning to grow. Adding to the excitement and energy around Bethany is a little feast in honor of Jesus, where His miracle friend, Lazarus, is dining with them. They’re gathering in the home of Simon the leper, perhaps hosting his first party since being delivered from among the ranks of the outcast. The house is filled with people, including Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. And as we might expect, Martha is taking care of serving everyone. She works the room with the food tray, making sure everyone has enough to eat and drink. Her heart and eyes are trained to see a need and take care of it, and she surely doesn’t stop moving all night long. Lazarus, not long from spending four days dead in a tomb, is understandably stuck close to Jesus’ side. Imagine the endless number of questions people would have for Jesus and Lazarus. How could anyone dare to walk away from them for fear of missing some amazing detail about how it all happened?  

Application

And then there was Mary. Amidst the food and the celebrating, the crowds and the frenzy, she has brought her delicate alabaster flask full of expensive perfume. She waits for just the right time, and then approaches Jesus as He is sitting at the table with His food. Perhaps she is being watched by some, or maybe she goes unnoticed among all the other activity. But when she pours the perfume on Jesus’ head, and kneels before Him and bathes His feet, dropping her face to the ground so her hair can wipe them dry, many in the room are stunned by what they are witnessing. And then, something fills the house. Not the smell of the food from the kitchen, not the chatter and laughter of the crowd, and not the amazing stories of new life and a rolling stone. The house is filled with the fragrance of the perfume. The worship of Jesus has overwhelmed everything else. The serving was good, and the fellowship beneficial. But it all pales to the worship of the King. And today, ours pales to the worship of the King. Can we accept that, and live like we believe it?   

Charge

As we seek Him today, keep doing the good, but do it with your focus on the best, the worship of Jesus. Fill wherever you are with that fragrance.