Matthew 26:6-13 – Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

THEME OF THE DAY: HE DESERVES OUR BEST. Take notice of the woman in today’s scripture. Her name is not even mentioned. She never wrote a best-selling Christian book. She also wasn’t in high demand as a conference speaker. We know very little about her, but she was, has been, and is being used by the Lord to influence so many of His people. He prophesied that “wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” She wasn’t a preacher but her loving sacrifice is one of the best sermons ever lived. Jesus called what she did, “a beautiful thing.”

Take a moment and imagine how this dear woman felt as she heard Jesus saying these words of her. There would have been no Pharisee-like heart of arrogance saying, “Look at me, so favored of God.” Nor would there have been an inward look of boasting or comparing of herself with others by the level of her great sacrifice to the Lord. No, this humble woman, so in love with the Lord Jesus, is the epitome of the way Christians live in fellowship with the Lord from the inside out. Let’s consider two things from this remarkable follower of Christ, applying them to ourselves in our walks with the Lord Jesus.

First, this woman gave of her best to the Lord. This was no cheap offering costing her little. She wasn’t dropping a few bucks in an offering plate. What she poured out on the Lord’s head and feet was priced at a year’s worth of wages. Yes, a year’s worth. J. C. Ryle commented, “She did it, no doubt, out of reverence and affection: she had received soul-benefit from Him (Christ), and she thought no mark of honor too costly to be bestowed on Him in return.” The lesson is obvious. If we truly grasp what Christ has done for us in making us His own, healing our sin-sick souls, and giving us Himself, we will not hold back anything in showing our love to Him. We won’t be stingy with our stuff. We won’t give grudgingly and we will do so out of love and admiration for the Lord Jesus.

The second lesson from the humble example found in this woman is it does not matter what other people are doing or thinking toward us. This woman and her offering was met with hostility, judgment, and censorship. Yet, she was unfazed by the opinions of people. One of the most important truths to learn as a grateful follower of Christ is don’t look at what other people are doing or not doing and don’t put stock in people’s opinions of us. Our admirers and encouragers today may very well be our critics and discouragers tomorrow. It happened to our Lord. And equally, don’t pay attention to those quick to judge and criticize our actions. Live our Christian lives as if only two people live – us as individuals and Christ as ours individually. Live to solely please Him, not people. It will produce joy and strength as we serve the Lord and walk with Him.

So, in both of these applications from this woman, we may learn this simple principle for daily Christian living. Let’s make it personal for each of us: “The Lord Jesus has done so much for me that He deserves nothing but the best from me in all that I have and all that I am. And no matter what others do or don’t do, think or not think of me, I will focus exclusively on Jesus striving to hear someday from Him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

PRAYER: “Lord, help me never to disrespect You by giving less than my best in what I have and in my person.”

QUOTE: “To give sparingly or conveniently to the Lord of ourselves or our things reveals we know so little of Him.”