How much are you willing to spend on Jesus? What are you willing to give up for Him? Are you willing to give extravagantly? Do you give sparingly? What do you think He thinks about your giving back to Him?
We don’t spend time thinking about our gifts to Jesus nearly as much as we ought to. It isn’t all about the money. We can give to Him in more ways than we typically think about. We can give to Him every day of our lives.
We may miss the extravagance of Mary’s gift to Jesus in today’s passage. For one, we don’t understand what nard is, let alone what it cost. Yet, when we do a bit of research, we discover it was very expensive. The amount was large, but not extremely so. It was about twelve ounces. But the cost was extreme. It was about a year’s worth of wages. Can you imagine spending a whole year of wages on perfume? Then pour it out on someone?
I dare say none of us are so extravagant when we give to Jesus. We give a little here and there. We may even tithe to the point of giving ten percent to the church. We may be willing to give a little of our extra time to His service. Unfortunately, we take for ourselves before we give to Him.
Now, make no mistake about it. In no way am I insinuating we should all quit our jobs, give all our time to Him, and give all our money to Him. No, we do need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others in His name.
Giving to Him is not merely a money topic. It is time. It is witnessing to others about Him. It is giving Him credit for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. It is recognizing that everything we have is a result of His grace.
I pray we all come to see Jesus for who He is. I pray we give Him the credit for all we have and all we are. I pray each one of us determine to give more of ourselves to Him. Think about your giving. Decide to give Jesus more. Give your time. Give your money. Witness about Him. Give Him all of yourself.
John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Marty Pressey 