Friday, July 18, 2025

The Jar

 Mark 14 and Matthew 26 both tell the story of the woman who brought an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume to Jesus. She poured it over His head. It was her intention to honor Him with this gift, but those looking on had varying states of response, from bewilderment to outrage. No one could understand how a poor woman could make such a sacrifice, as the value of the perfume was worth more than a years wages. Even His disciples struggled to understand this. Do His modern day disciples continue to not understand? Are you and I among them?


Anne Graham Lotz asked the question, "What is your alabaster jar? What is your most precious possession?" Unspoken is the deeper question; could we offer that to Him? Could we make such a sacrifice? The woman with the jar made this offering, this sacrifice, willingly, joyfully. To her, it wasn't a sacrifice at all. Those who witnessed her act focused on the cost to her. Her focus was on Jesus, and to her, there wasn't any real cost at all.

Someone made the statement that most of us have a predetermined place of just how far we will go in our following of Jesus Christ. A point we will go to in cost and sacrifice. A point we cannot see ourselves going beyond. Our focus is on what we might lose, what we have to give up. Our focus is on the cost. The cost to us and even the cost to those we love. Jesus understands this. In the Gospels, when people said they wanted to follow Him, He turned many away because they weren't willing to leave all to come after Him. Because of this, they never came to know Him deeply or to be used greatly by Him in the Kingdom. They preferred to follow Him from a safe distance. Many take this path. It's a dangerous thing to follow Him with all your heart. It's also a wonder filled thing, a miraculous thing.

I could write so much more on this, but my question, to both myself and you is, Is there a cost to following Him we're not willing to pay? Is there something more precious to us than Him? As we see our world spinning ever more out of control, this may be a question we're confronted with much sooner than we may think. If it does come, I want to believe that I'll go on with Him no matter what. After all He died to give me, and to give to you, how can we do any less? We owe a debt we can never repay but that debt has been paid by Him. May the song on our lips be the song on our hearts. "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give." May it be our testimony. May it be our legacy.

Blessings,
Pastor O

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