Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Poured Out

Just this morning I was blessed to hear from two VIAs who came back from Albania. While they were there, their time was split between homeschooling two children full time and a brimming weekend of ministries through youth services and children’s Bible school. It could not have been a more beautiful transition into what I read in Called: Following a Future Filled with the Possible later on.
I opened the devotional book and stared at the page entitled: Called: From ‘How Much Do I Give?’ to ‘How Much Do I Keep?’. That is fitting, I thought. It went on to speak of the story of Mary- Mary who listened to Jesus instead of helping her sister in the kitchen, Mary whose brother was raised from the dead, Mary who poured a bottle of perfume that cost her a year’s wages over Jesus’ feet. Since I have always been more of a Martha type of a person, I have tried to pay attention in my life to the stories of Mary. This story stands out to me, not only because of the expense of the perfume that she poured on Jesus’ feet, but also because of all of the social norms and rules she broke in order to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was not easy for her to come into where the men were eating, where her sister was serving the meal. She interrupted the talk, dropped to her knees and poured the perfume on His feet. She did not stop there; she dried His feet with her hair, leaving the fragrance to float through the air and permeate the noses of everyone in the room. If her act of interruption was not enough to get their attention, the attacking smell to follow surely would have been!

I am not saying that it is good to constantly break social norms; oftentimes they are there for a very good reason! But in those moments when I hear my Savior calling me to break out of my seat to go up to a stranger and ask them if I can pray for them, or to step out of my shift to help someone who is struggling to juggle all of the tables in their zone across the restaurant, I pray that I will heed His voice. I pray that I will pass on from solely being a Martha to being a Mary. Just as the VIAs spoke of this morning, we are called to serve, but to also go beyond that to obey. I pray that I will dote on my Savior just as “He lavishes His love on us and calls us His children” (1 John 3:1, NIV). Marys do not require a special profession; Marys require a special frame of mind and heart. Will you join me in being a Mary today?
 

1 comment:

  1. I met Anna during VIA training when she was going to Uganda! #smallworld #Jesus

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