A Beautiful Thing

A Beautiful Thing

Read: Mark 14:3-9

“She has done a very beautiful thing to me.”

Mark 14:6

“The oil of the lamp in the temple burnt away in giving light; so should we.”

—Robert Murray M’Cheyne

IN WORD The story is a familiar one to many: In the days preceding His death, a woman breaks open a clay jar of expensive perfume and anoints Jesus with it. It is an appropriate preparation for His burial, Jesus says, despite the protests of some at this dinner party. The formality of the dinner is not relevant, and neither is the “waste” of the precious perfume, He says. She has done a beautiful thing.

Not only has this woman (Mary of Bethany, according to John 12:3) done a beautiful thing in anointing Jesus for burial with a precious fragrance, she has done a beautiful thing by giving us an accurate illustration of the life of a believer. Like the vessel of nard, we are also to be broken and poured out at the feet of the Savior, as He was broken and emptied for us.

The illustration is a running theme in the New Testament. “We have this treasure in jars of clay,” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:7, emphasizing later that he is being poured out for the sake of the gospel (Philippians 2; 2 Timothy 4). Your life as a believer is to be a life of your most valuable treasures being emptied at the feet of the Lord. It is not a waste. It is a fragrant offering.

IN DEED We may be tempted at times to feel as if our service for the Lord is a waste of time and resources. Like Mary’s act of service, ours may bear no visible fruit, and it may impress no one else at the party. But motivation is the key. Is it done in pure devotion? Is it an offering of the best we have for the One we treasure most? Is it prompted by a passion for the character and work of our Savior? Then it is not a waste. A vessel broken so that its treasure might be devoted to Jesus is the kind of sacrifice that pleases Him most. It is what He asks of us, and it is a fragrant aroma to Him. It is a beautiful thing.