I try to daily position myself and tune in toward the words of Psalm 85:8, “having an ear to listen to what God says.” Sometimes that tune is right on key and other times I’m missing the chorus. However A couple of weeks ago I was on key and sharing with our staff about something He said and it has yet to leave me. It was about the woman who went to Jesus with her very expensive perfume bottle and giving no thought to all the eyes in the crowd she broke her costly bottle over him and the fragrance filled the air as it was poured out.
It reads like this: While Jesus was reclining at the table And a woman came into the house of Simeon the leper. She was holding an alabaster jar of perfume that was filled with the highest quality of fragrant and expensive oil. She walked right up to Jesus and broke the flask and poured it down over his head. Some who were watching became indignant, complaining to one another “what a total waste.” They began to scold her but Jesus rebuked them promising that wherever the gospel is preached her devotion will be mentioned. (Mark 14:3-9)
When we make our way towards Jesus we all come with something. Some times what we come with is extended and given like an offering, sometimes an offering of ourselves and our gifts…so costly others can’t get their heads around it and instead of celebrating they end up criticizing. And still some times in our coming we choose to hide or hold back, either way our coming is costly in one form or another. King David said in 2 Samuel 2:24 that he would not offer something or give sacrifice to the Lord that cost him nothing. This is not only a word about what it will cost us to come, but also what we will allow to be broken after we have brought ourselves?
It’s one thing to bring ourselves and all we have and offer it up as a sacrifice to the Lord for his using, it’s another thing entirely to come and allow for the breaking that happens as we offer ourselves. When we offer ourselves with the allowance to be broken, bended, submitted, refined, and bruised then I believe our lives are like the sweet aroma of Christ. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 2:15. It’s costly, it doesn’t make sense, but its these kind of stories full of devotion that Jesus mentions, elevates, adores, and receives as a sweet fragrance.
Praying that in these days each of us are not only bringing what’s costly to the Lord but allowing for brokenness to occur once it’s brought so that our lives would be a sweet aroma. And Heaven help us if we look at what others have to offer and scold instead of celebrate. May we be the kind of people that help and clap any way we can as others make their way towards Him.
Keep pouring out, DeAnn Carpenter