Love Poured Out Unabashed

And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume...

I imagine the luxurious scent, a pint of expensive perfume poured lavishly on the feet of Jesus, wiped by Mary's unbound hair, the fragrance filling the house. Jesus was the guest of honour at a dinner party thrown by grateful friends in appreciation: Jesus had raised a man named Lazarus from the dead, and his sisters were the grateful. What would you give or do for someone if they brought back your loved one from the grave? Could you possibly repay them? Would a pint of perfume poured lovingly on their feet be enough?

Spellbinding adoration

Love poured out unabashed 

This spellbinding display of adoration for Jesus came six days before the last God ordained Passover. Jesus was to be the final sacrifice, the last sin offering for a fallen world. The nard, the expensive oil poured upon His feet, was typically used for burial. A liar and a thief (Judas Iscariot) witnessing the act of love objected, saying:

Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein (John 12:5-6)

How will you be remembered?
Which one would you be dear reader? The adoring perfume pourer, or the black hearted mercenary? I curl my lip at the thoughts that come to me when I hear Judas and his greedy intonation. While Judas witnessed an act of unfettered, uninhibited adoration, he saw money being poured out, perhaps even taken from his pockets. 

In his self-serving-money-grabbing-mind, he resented the act of worship, and put a price tag on Mary's gift, something that was hers alone to give. This would not be the last time Judas put a price on what is pure and precious. This was a foreshadowing of the heinous selling out of Jesus, that Judas would become infamous for, just days later. 

Think of it dear reader, to be known for millennia as a traitor: a turn coat on diety? Who would want to name their child Judas, defined now as: a person who betrays a friend or comrade. To name a child this would be a curse on his life.

Good vs evil theme
In my good vs evil themed writing, I see each of us, hear each of us choosing:

• Do you lovingly lavish Jesus, unabashed and adoringly? 
• Or are you a traitor trapped in your own self-obsessed-money-making-mind, seeing opportunity to cash in, at the expense of your very soul? 

It is a Mary vs Judas question dear reader, and we make our choices every single day. We choose to honour God or honour ourselves.

Life blood poured out
Now, we must not lose the thread of truth that travels throughout The Bible: let us pick it up once again here. 

Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He was the last ordained passover sin offering, and Mary poured burial perfume on His feet and wiped them with her hair. 

Would you sit at his feet and publicly display your love for Him this way? She did not know about the cross yet, or the price He was about to pay for her sins, and her sisters sins, and her raised from the dead brothers sins. She knew He was God and that he had resurrected her brother, Lazarus. 

Fast forward to you and me. We have knowledge of this and so much more. Jesus was raised from the dead by God Almighty after He did what He came here to do. He died on that cross, His life blood poured out, for me, for you... for your brothers and sisters, your mother and father, your children, your... He died for us.

I ask you again dear one, which one are you? A lover of Christ or one who continues to crucify Him? 

Which one, are you?