“A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.”
(Mark 14:3 NIV)
We read this story, the one that Jesus tells us will be repeated wherever the gospel is told, and take notes:
- The woman gave her very best.
- The woman gave her all. (She broke the jar.)
- Her worship was understood and received gladly by Jesus, but few others.
- The aroma of her worship filled the room and affected bystanders.
- The intensity of her worship was misunderstood by some.
“Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another why this waste of perfume?” (Mark 14:6,8 NIV)
There are things that we do for the Kingdom and specifically for Christ that onlookers will not understand. They can’t. They have not lived the gory details of our narrative. They have not crawled through the depths with us or tasted our temptation as Jesus has. He had walked with this alabaster jar-bearing woman and He’s walked with us.
Our story: all the dark and gnarly parts that even our dearest friends aren’t privy to are fully known by Jesus. And that’s why such extravagant worship touches His heart so deeply: He knows the true cost. He know it’s a pure response to the extravagant gift of His presence.
“Yet a time is coming when the true worshippers will worship the Father is spirit and in truth, for they are kind of worshipers the Lord seeks. God is spirit and His worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth.”
(John 4:23-24 NIV)
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my most being, praise His holy name.”
(Psalm 103:1 NIV)
Jesus and the psalmist invite us to worship with all our guts, holding nothing back. He encourages us to bring our true and total self to the Lord and let every part of our life praise the Lord. I believer that’s what the woman with the alabaster jar did, and what Jesus asks each of us to do as well. Pour it all out in front of Him in authentic wonderment, waste ourselves on His glory as He wasted Himself on our salvation.
Lord, we want to worship You with everything. Help us break the bottle; no plan b and nothing leftover. This is the appropriate response to Your sinless blood spilled on our behalf. Others may not understand, but our gratitude exceeds our resources. Amen.