Our giving speaks for our souls

By Don McLaughlin

Jesus was tired. His ministry took a toll on him. More than once the Bible tells us he was tired. Bethany, a beautiful little town just a few miles from Jerusalem had become something of a haven for him. His dear friends, sisters Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus had hosted Jesus often. He had done some of his most amazing healing, teaching, and demonstrations of deep love in this very town. I have often wondered if there were ever some folks in the shadows who wished they, too, could get some time with the beloved rabbi. Some folks, like Martha, are straightforward and always willing to share what’s on their mind. Others, in the same household, were more reluctant. It isn’t that they didn’t have needs, hurts, joys, sorrows, hopes—or something to say to Jesus. It just didn’t come easy. It would require a little extra to say exactly what was on their mind.

In Mark 14 we come across just such a person. Jesus is in the home of Simon the Leper (and don’t let the casual nature of Mark’s reporting allow you to overlook the amazing implications of that simple statement!). A woman who has something to say comes in, cracks open an expensive vase of perfume and pours it on Jesus. Words were insufficient for her. The perfume, it’s extreme value, and the nature with which she poured it had to do the speaking for her. Her soul was bursting. She wanted Jesus, and everyone else, to know her love for him. Breaking the jar was the only way her actions could speak loudly enough. Her soul was praising and thanking at the top of her lungs. Giving her all, breaking the bank, the perfume gurgling and spilling everywhere was the only way.

Some got on her, criticized her, and tried to get her—and Jesus—to regret how generous she had been. She was having none of that, and Jesus was with her. He was blessed, she was blessed, and because of her, WE are blessed. Love Forward is about breaking the vase to allow our giving to speak for our souls!

How can this opportunity to give like never before help you grow into the kind of Jesus follower that leaves behind a witness of love for the next generation?