A Beautiful Gift

(Originally posted April 5, 2010)

Sometimes all you can do is . . . all you can do.

In getting ready for Easter, I had been reading through the gospel accounts of Jesus death and resurrection. But this morning, I flashed back to the days before His passion when He was enjoying a banquet in His honor in a town nearby. (Matthew 26:6-13, John 12:1-11)

Mary (of “Martha and Mary” fame), came with a gift for Jesus. She anointed Jesus with a very expensive perfume, and then took some serious flack for doing so. “What a waste!” a certain man demanded, as if to say that there was no point to her sacrifice of devotion. All wasted.

But Mary loved Jesus. She had spent precious time learning at His feet and later watched as He brought her brother, Lazarus, out of the tomb. She was deeply connected to Him. Surely she knew that tensions were rising to a fever pitch in Jerusalem, that her Teacher was in danger. Even Jesus' closest disciples did not yet grasp the gravity of the days to come, so Mary must have also been in a state of nervous confusion and waiting.

Even so, what she could do, she wanted to do. What she was able to offer, she gladly gave. She just wanted to show her love for her Messiah, and Jesus praised her for it, saying that Mary's gift would be memorialized everywhere the good news was heard (Matt. 26:13). Wow.

I've always loved this part of the Story. Here's what I wrote in my journal with regard to our own acts of devotion toward our Savior:

“Perhaps sometimes there is not a further motive or agenda, just a sacrifice of love, devotion, worship – that IS the end of the act itself, and it need not be more. When God is doing something BIG, sometimes all we can do is pour out our love for Him, trusting His plan and guidance – helplessly, humbly, worshiping in the midst of His moving. Maybe we don't need to understand – just . . . love . . . Him.”

These thoughts keep ringing in my head, and I'm trying to figure out if they actually make sense, but I think they do. A sacrifice, a piece of art, a poem, a prayer, a cry . . . directed in love, honors our Lord. And no one may know about it except Him and me. It may not lead to helping or encouraging another soul, and it may not fit neatly into our prepackaged ministry kits. But in the middle of uncertainty, love poured out in whatever form we can manage is beautiful to our God.