“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Mark 14:6-9
When it comes to the Christian life, the stakes are high. You and I only get one chance on earth to please our Master. No do-overs. Do you ever wake up at night and wonder, Am I doing this right? Am I making the most of the moments God gives me? That’s why I love today’s Scripture. When the woman poured perfume on Jesus’ head, some people went ballistic and criticized her. But Jesus rebuked them harshly. He said, in essence, “Back off! She did what she could; it was beautiful.”
Sometimes I look at my own service to the Lord and think it isn’t much. I could have done so much better. And yet I did what I could. Really, that’s all God asks us to do. We can only do what we are able to do in the moment. And inspired by the Spirit, it’s always a beautiful thing in Jesus’ sight.
Lord, You know my heart. You know I do want to please You. The results seem clumsy or ineffective sometimes (well, maybe much of the time), but You’re not carrying around a clipboard making checkmarks. You are looking at my heart. And in Your great grace, You make beautiful, worthy things out of my awkward, not-ready-for-prime-time attempts to serve You.
