May 4, 2020

PASSAGE | John 12:2–3

2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

REFLECTION

Today this scene struck me as such a beautiful act of worship… It reminds me of this passage in Luke 7:41–43: “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Jesus’ grace and love toward Mary (not just in her personal life but in resurrecting Lazarus!) must have installed the deepest reverence, thankfulness, and awe into her heart…or else why would she use expensive oils to anoint Jesus’ feet — and in front of her two siblings, too!? Her act is so undignified and so genuine..it’s really quite beautiful and makes me rethink a lot of my own view on worship.

I think I need to actively reflect way more to remember what Jesus did for me… This passage actually makes me feel so silly because sometimes I think I will worship God “well” later when I have a job and skills and resources that I can use to glorify to Him (and this is particularly relevant to me now as I think about my dreams and my future!!!) But this passage reminds me to cherish Jesus now, regardless of what I have to offer. And maybe that mindset of “offering” God something “good” is just…stupid to begin with. As long as I recognize Jesus has done anything at all for me (and he’s done soooo much), I have my heart and all my affections to give him.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Hmm…this is a really weird prayer request and I’m hesitating to actually send this, but there’s a refugee family I know in Atlanta who unexpectedly moved recently because the kids ended up getting bullied by the other tenants’ kids who are living with them since they’ve had to interact with each other a lot more during quarantine, and they originally decided to live with that other family to lower rent costs… It was a really unforeseen circumstance, and the eldest daughter in the family (14y/o) is struggling because she’s had to deal with calling utilities, insurance, and internet companies, which has been really burdensome and stressful for her since her parents don’t speak English, and her other siblings are all younger… So please pray specifically for their family’s move and their health and everything… and pray especially for the eldest daughter because she was really stressed and bitter, and that maybe this could even be an opportunity for her and/or their family to receive God’s grace because they’re not Christian… Alsooo please pray for all people in this world who are really struggling bc of coronavirus…with housing, utilities being shut off, hunger, unemployment, even child abuse or domestic violence, the list unfortunately goes on… :((((( The more prayer warriors interceding for this world, the better!!!!!!!! and pray that His provision and love during this time could be an opportunity for people to taste God’s incomparable and unmatched grace! Okay sorry that’s SO long. But thank you for praying for these things :’))))) ❤