There came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. (Mark 14:3)
The very nature of God is extravagance. How many sunrises and sunsets does God make?
Gloriously wasteful, O my Lord, art Thou!
Sunset faints after sunset into the night…
How many flowers and birds, how many ineffable beauties all over the world, lavish desert blossoms that only His eyes see?
Mary’s act was one of spontaneous extravagance. Mary of Bethany revealed in her act of extravagant devotion, that the unconscious sympathy of her life was with Jesus Christ. “She hath done what she could”—to the absolute limit of what a human can do. It was impossible to do more. The only thing that Jesus Christ ever commended was this act of Mary’s, and He said: “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her,” because in the anointing our Lord saw an exact illustration of what He, Himself, was about to do. He put Mary’s act alongside His own Cross. God shattered the life of His own Son to save the world. Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him? Our Lord is carried beyond Himself with joy when He sees any of us doing what Mary of Bethany did Have I ever produced in the heart of the Lord Jesus what Mary of Bethany produced? “She hath done what she could”—to the absolute limit. I have not done what I could until I have done the same.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is the precious ointment poured on the feet of the Master ever wasted? Eternity will answer the question. GOLD CORD
The only way to keep a thing is to throw it away!
Seeds which mildew in the garner
Scattered, fill with gold the plain.
To keep your treasure is to die—to lose it is to live—
The angels keep the records in God’s countinghouse—so give!
PATIENCE STRONG
Cowman, L. B. E.. Springs in the Valley (pp. 166-167). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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