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 14:8,9
There are a lot of ideas, philosophies, prophets, religions out there. They basically say that you’ve got to get better. You’ve got to impress people and God by achieving. You’ve got to do something so great that God can’t ignore you any longer. If you do it right, he’ll turn away from whatever has his attention and look at you. Then he’ll figure out if you’re worthy of his love and friendship.
The results, the fruit, of this is tragic at best. Discouraging and defeating at worst. The bottom line is that we can never fix ourselves. We can never become all that we think we should. Never become who God made us to be. We’ll always fail. We’ill always fall short.
That’s the double curse on all of humanity. We sense that we should be better. We know where our shortcomings are and what needs to happen. But we’re not powerful enough to accomplish it. To change into the people we know we should be.
This is one of the great truths and differences that Jesus brings to the table. He agrees with us. He knows that we’ll always, always, always fall short of who God made us to be. We just can’t reach that high on our own.
But, instead of putting us under the blanket of guilt and fear, God enters into the story of our life. He pays the debt that we’ve dug ourselves into. He not only forgives, but empowers us with himself. He changes and energizes us to become the people he’s made us to be.
And how do we know this? Listen to what Jesus says about the woman. What did she do? Did she climb some physical or moral mountain? Did she go out and try to buy God’s forgiveness?
No. She “did what she could.” She took what she had and gave it to Jesus.
Yes, she seized the day. She seized the opportunity. She came to Jesus, but came as she was. Bringing what she had. She didn’t run out to the store. She didn’t go to the ATM and withdraw money. With what she had, she did what she could.
She didn’t know the future. She didn’t understand that his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion were only hours away. She didn’t know that there was not going to be time to anoint his body before burial. She didn’t know that his lifeless body was going to be hastily taken to a borrowed grave.
She did what she could. With what she had. And God did the rest.
Now, I’m all for planning. I’m all about preparing for the future[1]. But there is a deep truth about the way the world and universe work. God loves and accepts us right where we are. He died for us while we were still sinners[2] and his enemy[3]. This brings us into an eternal, unshakeable, unmovable relationship with God as our Heavenly Father. Our eternal daddy.
Yes, he loves us where we are, but he doesn’t want us to stay where we are. He wants us to become more and more like Jesus. We’re to live each and every day with and through his power.
In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:5, NCV
And that’s exactly what this great woman of faith did. She did what she could, with what she had. She gave from her heart. From what she had.
God’s not looking for you to go out and achieve some great thing to get noticed by him. You don’t have to do some great miracle for him to see and love you. No, he’ll notice you right where you are. Giving him what you’ve already got.
And then, if it pleases God, he may give us more in return so that we can give more and more back to him. It’s never, never, never about our accumulation, but about our emancipation from the captivity of things. When we give what we have, we experience God’s best. We become more like Jesus. We become like the person he made us to be. We fulfill our purpose. Our destiny.
Look what Jesus says about this woman’s future. Her actions and story will be told and retold throughout the whole world. Not because of the size of the gift, but because she gave what she had. No more, no less. She just did it. And that was more than enough for Jesus.
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