"...a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head." - Mark 14:3b
Did you make any resolutions for 2017? I used to make elaborate New Years' resolutions: some years my list would even go into double digits! (Not surprisingly, most years didn't see me keeping any of them even through January!) This year, though, I didn't really give it much thought. Between a busy concert month, packing up and moving my household, unexpected illnesses, and planning for some new ministry opportunities, I just haven't taken the time for resolution-making.
Whatever your approach to the new year, I have a good resolution for us all to consider. Today's verse takes place at a dinner party, when Mary came and anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. If you'll recall, as soon as she had begun Judas Iscariot began grousing to himself about the cost of the perfume, saying it could have been sold and the money given to help the poor. (You can read John 12:6, however, and see that that wasn't his real motivation.)
But what I really want to focus on is Jesus' response in Mark 14:6-8: "Leave her alone...she has done what she could."
It is so tempting for me to look at other people's resolutions or their successes in various arenas and to think, "Oh my! I could never accomplish all that!" Or to get discouraged when I fail to meet all my own expectations. This year, instead of all that angst, I am choosing to embrace a new resolution: I choose to do what I can. Maybe what I can do won't be as much as what you can do. Maybe it won't even be as much as I did last year--or maybe it will be more. But whatever it is, I will rest in the knowledge that it is enough.
Jesus doesn't ask me to do what others are doing or to do more than He has equipped me to do. When He observed the widow placing her two small coins in the offering (Mark 12:42-44), His response was not one of criticism but of commendation. Though her offering was a pittance compared to the wealthier worshipers, hers was more valuable because it was all she had.
What is God calling you to do this year? Perhaps you don't think you have as much to offer as others; or maybe you just don't have it in you to do as much as you've done before. Take heart from this passage and simply do what you can.
For me, in 2017, you might find that my devotionals are shorter than previously (for which you might be grateful!), or my time is spent more on my family relationships than any outside ministry endeavors. And you know what? That's okay. Because even if everyone tells me otherwise--or even if my own feelings try to rebuke me--I will simply take the words of Jesus and say, "Leave me alone...I am doing what I can." And I hope you will find the freedom to do the same.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture used in "Joy in the Morning" is taken from the English Standard Version.
