One of my favorite stories in Scripture is that one of Mary, Martha’s sister… Mary, who poured out her vial of priceless perfume on Jesus. I often wonder about that perfume. I wonder how long it had been sitting on the shelf in Mary and Martha’s house… maybe sitting on a household shelf, covered with a fine layer of dust – can you picture it? Maybe that vial of perfume had been hidden away in a chest somewhere for safe keeping, like something to bank on for a rainy day. Maybe that vial of perfume could have been a family heirloom, treasured and protected, handed down from their parents or grandparents. Maybe that expensive perfume was being saved and set aside to be passed onto the next generation. Just sitting on a shelf!
Mary could have kept it to herself; she could have kept it and reserved it for her family. It could have remained on the shelf collecting dust rather than being broken open and poured on the Lord Jesus. But if that had happened, the Savior would have gone to the cross with no sweet lingering scent of a godly woman’s sacrificial love, and Mary’s story would have never been told to countless millions in numberless languages and dialects all over the world.
I am so glad that Mary didn’t save her special treasure for a rainy day. I'm so grateful she didn’t decide to leave it on the shelf like a family heirloom just to look at and to admire. I'm so thankful that she broke it open and poured it all out on the one and only one who was worth it all and more!
And what Mary did with that perfume speaks to me, it really does. And I hope it speaks to you. Because there is something about “pouring it all out” in service, pouring it out in devotion and love to Jesus that makes your life fragrant… and not only your life, but you become a fragrant offering, reminding the Father of all that Jesus sacrificed when He walked on earth. There’s something so sweet and precious about cracking open your heart and giving your affection to the Savior in the midst of a difficult or painful situation. It almost takes a simple testimony like yours and mine and pushes it way over the top, because there’s nothing like a song of praise rising out of brokenness that opens a wellspring of joy and gladness.
Friend, what are you holding on to tightly today? What gift or resource or talent have you squirreled away for safe keeping? What are you saving, what are you holding back from being poured out as a sacrificial offering of praise and thanksgiving to the God? It could be something as simple yet significant as, well… your life, your attitude, your outlook on things. You’ve got some talents, don’t you? You’ve got some gratitude you can offer… you’ve got thanksgivings you can pour out… you’ve got smiles you can give, and time and treasure… I know you’ve got words of encouragement way down deep. Don’t bottle them up. Don’t sit your love on a shelf. Don’t save your friendship or your smiles for only those you know or like to be friends with. Give gratitude in the midst of a hardship and, oh my, you’ll find it’ll be like pouring out perfume on the Lord Himself. It’ll be a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving – and it’ll be sweet and beautifully fragrant.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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