8And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? 9For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor." 10But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."
After I read these eight verses I couldn't even finish the chapter without picking up my journal to write about the significance of them.
The woman with the Alabaster flask is the woman I want to be. Her relationship of love with Jesus is a beautiful thing and something she had no desire to hide. The Bible doesn't say how great of a sacrifice this woman made by the gift she gave Jesus, but Mark does tell us it was a very costly ointment with which this woman anointed the head of Jesus. She gave him her best.
I think this woman shows us the stuff of what our relationship with Jesus should be. Our relationship with our Saviour doesn't begin with giving to the poor (which is a good thing). We don't form the basis for our relationship with him on our church attendance or how many worship songs we can play on the guitar (which are also good things). Rather, the very core of our relationship is what the woman with the alabaster flask understood--it is absolute devotion to Jesus. We need to be in love with Him, sold out to Him, we need to give our best for Him because our hearts desire is nothing less. Only then--in that passionate love we can realize only in Christ--can we truly love and serve others and worship and glorify our Creator.
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