Day 40: Costly Extravagance
The woman, Mary, had been given a costly gift—a beautiful, alabaster jar of perfume. It was a rare treasure for one of her station, and may have comprised her entire dowry. And yet when she broke it at Jesus’ feet, and anointed him with it, she felt no sense of loss, but only a deep delight. She understood that the gift had been given to her for a purpose and that the real enjoyment of it was not in keeping it, but in using it well.
She was normally a modest woman, a quiet counterpoint to her sister Martha, and yet she couldn’t help but be undignified when it came to Jesus. They had servants to wash travelers’ feet, and yet she chose to do so herself. They also had cloths for drying, but she wanted to towel his feet with her hair, even though she knew her behavior verged on scandalous. She wasn’t trying to create a scene, she just cared more about serving Christ than about the strictures of her culture or the whispers of the rumormongers.
This woman chose costly extravagance, both of her treasures and of her own pride. Although the figures around her were scandalized, Jesus not only affirmed her actions but called them beautiful.
Read Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8
Question to Consider:
What does costly extravagance toward Christ look like in your life?
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, please help me to choose costly extravagance toward you. I pray to find the deeper joy of giving my treasures to you and of walking a life of undignified obedience.
By Dr. Sarah Drivdahl