Mark 14:1-9 tells of the woman who entered the home where Jesus was sitting with his disciples, pouring costly perfume from an alabaster jar on Jesus’ head. Indignant, the disciples pointed out that the cost of the perfume, more than a year’s wages, could have been better served to feed the poor. But Jesus corrected them and received her gift, saying, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.” He goes on to tell them that “wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, her story would be told in memory of her.” As I meditate on Jesus’ words about the woman, two things stand out to me. One, that “she gave what she could.” The woman gave out of her love and devotion to Jesus. Looking at our own lives, ask yourself – Am I giving all I can of my time, talents, and resources? The second point that stands out is “that her story would be told in memory of her.” What story will be told in my memory? In yours? May our love for Jesus motivate us to freely and sacrificially give so that the gospel is propelled. In doing so, we will leave a legacy of a life lived in devotion to Him.
“She did what she could...wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Mark 14:8-9