Have you ever felt like you were mourning someone before they were gone, and you didn’t even know who ‘they’ were, yet you were in mourning? As I ponder this, my thoughts go to Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, as she anointed Jesus’ feet before His crucifixion and burial – before He was even gone. She used a pint of expensive perfume in an alabaster jar that was also expensive, a devotion to Him that would have been costly, but it didn’t matter to her. Interesting that the Bible doesn’t say she speaks during this time, even when others grumbled against her. And she didn’t need to because she knew her Savior knew her heart. Her focus was on anointing Him before His burial, not only grateful for what Jesus had already done, but also understanding what Jesus had been saying: that He was about to die and be buried. See Matthew 26:6-13, John 12:1-8
What a beautiful act of love as she then wiped Jesus’ feet – a servant’s job, and with her hair. The NIV Study Bible states, “a respectable woman did not ordinarily unbind her hair in public.” Such humility and submission to Jesus is a beautiful picture of where our hearts should be as we follow Him. We can focus on the cost, a seemingly common thing to do, or we can focus on pure unadulterated submission to our Savior. Submission is beautiful to a perfect God. It’s like a peace that one just can’t explain. The most beautiful act of kindness, the most perfect sunrise or sunset that no painting could ever fully capture, the most endearing and loving relationship, cannot match the relationship we can have with God.
Interestingly (but not a coincidence I’m sure), this morning I read part of Paul & Timothy’s letter to the Philippians: Philippians 2:5-8. What stood out to me this time was in verse 8. “And being found in human form, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient…” Jesus’ focus while on earth in His human form was not on what everyone thought about Him, nor was it to walk around with a deistic attitude that He lorded over everyone. He emptied Himself of such and came humbly, embracing perfect humanity, serving His Father and pointing to the Almighty God, obeying Him even to the point of death on a cross. Why obey Him? Because He fully understood the beauty of such obedience; His love for us – to teach such emptying of oneself and to die and rise for us – is beyond comprehension.
The depth of such love the Savior has for us. The grace! I think about what steals my focus from where it should be; maybe I’m mourning that I’ve allowed those things to get in the way of spending time with my Savior. Jesus, Lord of all. Whatever has our attention, may it be brought back to Him. Let’s face it, God does ask us to do hard things. I mean, Jesus went to the cross! But He does not leave us alone; He remains faithful and always with us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 [the Lord said] “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And 2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline.”
Let us remain in His Word, meditating as we live each day, for it is not a rule book but rather a story. The story of our need for a Savior and Jesus coming as our Savior. It doesn’t replace our humanity but rather builds a beautiful bond with human and spiritual, the way God intended it. Let us never stop reading about Him and knowing Him more!