Meditation for Monday

There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on His head as He sat at meat. Matthew 26:7

As the children of Kings County gathered in the sports field of Rothesay Collegiate for the walkabout by the prince and princess of Wales, they were dressed in their nicest clothes and had all been neatly groomed and readied for the event. Boys were wearing dress pants and shirts, with a few wearing ties and sports coats. The girls had pretty dresses and had their hair done up in special ways. In addition to all of the well-groomed look that the children all had, many of them also carried bouquets of flowers, including lilacs, and other bright bits of vegetation. As Princess Diana made her way through the crowds, pausing to greet some of the children, they would present her with their flowers. They beamed with delight as she graciously accepted their offerings, sometimes bestowing a pat on the head or even a kiss, thrilling the children even more. To those children, no greater use could possibly be made of those flowers than to be given to the princess. To the woman in our text, no greater use could be made of the ointment than to be poured on the head of the Lord Jesus.

We are told the ointment was very costly. The disciples thought that its value would have been better applied to helping the poor. After all, the alabaster box was emptied on His head; there was none left for any other purpose. The woman had made a total commitment of the ointment to the Lord Jesus, holding back none and considering no other alternative. She sets before us a wonderful example of the devotion that we ought to have for the Lord Jesus.

We are told that the ointment was very precious. It probably represented years of savings to purchase. It reminds us that each of us also has an alabaster box of precious ointment. We have each been given a life, and we must decide how we will pour out that life. We must pour it all out, one second at a time, one minute at a time, one day, week, month, and year at a time, until it is emptied and we depart this mortal realm. Empty it we must, but empty it how? Will we listen to the disciples and pour out our life helping the poor? Will our lives be poured out to purchase pleasure, money, power, or popularity? As we consider the pouring out of the ointment of our life, do we consider what is the highest and best purpose for our life? Given that the purchase of temporal things will endure only for this life and not beyond, we should consider investing our lives in that which will endure for eternity.

Since we must pour out our lives anyway, let us pour them out in the most worthy manner possible, in devotion to our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh

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