Pouring it all out

I want my life to be like the woman with the alabaster jar. 

I am starting this blog to share my honest thoughts with you. I want to dedicate another resource to intentionally finding the good in things. I want to share what I am going through in a real and vulnerable way, and I would love for you to share with me too! I desire to find new ways to express my gratitude for the grace I have received from God. 

Today I want to talk about the woman with the alabaster jar. I have been thinking about this woman a lot lately.I want to be like her! A woman who gave everything she had because she realized who Jesus was. Her tears fell on his feet because she realized not only who she was but how he saw her. She was worthy in his eyes; she was loved and enough and seen and beautiful. In the days of the Bible, when a woman reached the age of marriage, her family purchased an Alabaster box for her, and they would fill it with fragrant oil. When a suitor asks for her hand in marriage, and she agrees, she does him honor by breaking the box and pouring out the oil at his feet. And as we who are in a relationship with Jesus are referred to as “the bride of Christ,” I find this powerful!  Nard was a popular perfume in Biblical days. The scent was powerful; it would permeate the entire house. 2 Corinthians says, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” Our love for Jesus should permeate every place we go and all whom we meet. The disciples were indignant when they saw what this woman did. To them, it was “a waste.” They spoke of how much she could have sold the perfume for in order to help the poor, but Jesus reprimanded them and said that what she did was beautiful. He said the poor would always be with them, but he would not. He told them that she did this to prepare his body for burial and that wherever the gospel is preached, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Wow! The men who walked and lived with Jesus every day for years couldn’t give all their hearts to the moment, but this woman gave everything! She knew honoring Jesus was more important than money. So an unnamed woman was included in the Bible because she is our example to pour it all out!  What do you have? What do you find valuable? Would you part with it to honor Jesus? If you are holding anything back, that’s a place you need to take to God in prayer. Nothing we have is really our own. All of it is a gift from God. Take some time today to sit at the feet of Jesus and share all of your heart with Him.