Our Life: A Demonstration of His Worth

I know it’s Thursday and everyone is immersed in the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet. But my favorite story in the Bible when it comes to Holy Week is the story of a woman. A woman with an obsession, a hunger for the Son of God that impacts a generation that once stood before Jesus in the flesh.

Let me paint a picture for you using Brian Simmons Passion Translation:

Then Jesus went to Bethany, to the home of Simon, a man Jesus had healed of leprosy. A woman came into the house, holding an alabaster flask filled with expensive, fragrant oil. She came right to Jesus, and in a lavish gesture of devotion, she poured out the costly oil, and it cascaded over his head as he was at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were offended. “What a total waste!” they grumbled. “We could have sold it for a great deal of money and given it to the poor.”

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why are you critical of this woman? She has done a beautiful act of kindness. You will always have someone poor whom you can help, but you will not always have me. When she poured the fragrant oil over me, she was preparing my body for burial. I promise you that when this wonderful gospel spreads all over the world, the story of her lavish devotion to me will also be mentioned in memory of her.”

I want to note that Mary is only mentioned three times in the Bible. This is striking because from what we’ve read, Mary just sits with Jesus all day. There is no mention of her preaching the gospel, writing a book, or, performing miracles. What gives!?

Jesus says that Mary would be remembered for what she had done to him. What is it about Mary that would cause her life to be tied to the testimony of the name of Christ? Here it is…

She loved him.

To religion is doesn’t seem very significant, but to those who know the worth of Jesus know this to be true:

Our love for him is demonstration of his worth. Our life is demonstration of his value.

What was worthless to Mary was of the most importance to everyone else in the room. Simply being with Jesus and knowing him freed her from the need of anything else in her life. Her life was a demonstration of pure and unreserved devotion to Yahweh. In Luke 10, Mary and Martha has Jesus over. Martha busied herself serving and preparing, but there was Mary again, sitting at the feet of Jesus, captivated by his beauty, clinging to every word that proceeded from his mouth.

As it was with Mary, our lives are to be a demonstration of the value of God.

Eric Gilmour once said, the only necessity in life is looking at Jesus. I still believe this to be true. The more I look at him, the more my eye is single (my heart is whole).

Mary’s life shows us how Abba is not looking for us to behave, but for us to simply behold.

As you approach Good Friday, ask Him:

“Abba, how can my life be a demonstration of your worth? How can I take my eyes off worthless things and ideas and put them on the worthy one, Christ?