July 8th - John 12:3

John 12:3 Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. Mary’s anointing of Jesus was a beautiful act of devotion, but it is hard not to have at least some sympathy for Judas, who pointed out that the precious perfume would have cost the equivalent of one year’s wages. That’s a huge amount of money. We know that Judas was a thief, but anyone might question the wisdom of spending such a vast amount of money in that way. However, incredible generosity is the natural language of love. Mary was devoted to Jesus and no gift could have been too lavish or generous for her Lord. I love that the fragrance of the perfume filled the house. I’m sure it did, and probably for many days afterwards. We are still blessed by her lavish generosity 2,000 years later because it gives us beautiful insight into the nature of love. There are thousands of people in our country who care for friends and relatives. They receive no pay, and their lives are severely limited by their caring responsibilities. If you were to count up all the hours that they devote to caring it would come to a massive sum, but it’s not a calculation they have ever bothered to do. That’s because of love. I have also seen people pour themselves out for children’s activities, youth groups, fellowship meetings and church gatherings. They have rarely been thanked for their efforts and never received any rewards, but they have kept going through thick and thin, and I find that incredibly impressive. Their love for the Lord compelled them to pour out their time and effort in a way that would seem ridiculous and very unwise to others, but they did so because of love –we should rejoice! Question Think of an act of incredible generosity that you have seen. What did you learn from it? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for those I have known who have acted with incredible generosity out of love for you. Help me to learn from their example. Amen