Pour It All Out

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Mark 14:3-9 (KJV)

The woman with the alabaster box poured the perfumed oil on Jesus. Its value equaled a year’s worth of work, yet she poured it all on Jesus- not part of it, but all of it. She gave her all; nothing was left. She was demonstrating that Jesus meant more to her than a year’s labor. She loved Jesus more than herself therefore she put Jesus above her own needs. She could have lived on the proceeds from that oil for a year, but she considered the cost and unselfishly poured it on Jesus.

This act of extravagant love helped Jesus to go through the stages of suffering He would encounter. When He was struck, whipped, tortured, mocked, mistreated and crucified, He could recall that someone loved Him and was counting on Him- someone who paid a price to show Him her love. This had to encourage Jesus to suffer for her and for all of us. Her sacrificial act was not a waste.

In like fashion, we must love Jesus enough to give Him our best and give Him our all. Jesus gave His best for us and we should do the same. Whatever it costs us, it is worth the price- and then some. Jesus sowed His life for us and now He is reaping a harvest of souls. The more we give of ourselves, the more we receive in return from Jesus. Let’s pour our love, worship, and gifts on Jesus. We should give Him our all because He gave His all for us.