What Will You Give?

John 12:1-8:
"Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was
which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
They made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus,
and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief,
and having the bag took away what was put therein.

Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always."

This passage of Scripture relates what happened in the village of Bethany just a few days
before Jesus came to Jerusalem to be crucified.

Mary had an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love toward Jesus.
Mary comes into the room with an alabaster jar of perfume.
Now alabaster was a kind of marble.
It is something that was carved out of stalactites and stalagmites.
It has rings in it.
It is very beautiful and it was very expensive.
And inside of it is "nard".
Pure nard is a very expensive perfume.
It would have been worth a year's wages for a common laborer.
It was so valuable since it got better with age.
It was often something that was given from mother to daughter as a family heirloom.

And she comes in with this and she breaks it open.
Once this has been opened, it has to be used right then.
You can't save it.

And usually when they opened something like this, they would carefully put a few drops on the head
of every guest as a show of hospitality.
But instead, she comes in and pours all perfume in the jar on the feet of Jesus.
She anointed His feet with this perfume, and then wiped His feet with her hair.

It was so extravagant that, if it were to be resold, it it would have provided enough resources
for ten families for a whole month.
She demonstrated her love by anointing Him with a very expensive perfume.
This action revealed an impulsive response of devotion that was costly and which revealed
her love for him.
Her action demonstrated the depth and extent of her love.

Mary's love was an indication of her generosity.
The perfume was very costly as seen in verse 3.
The scripture says that this perfume wouldn't cost "three hundred pence."
In those days that was almost a year's wages for a working man.
Mary had probably saved her money over a long period of time in order to purchase so costly a perfume.

Real authentic love always breeds a generous spirit.
A generous spirit is willing to sacrifice and to deny its own self interest.
Authentic love reveals itself in an extra effort, extra time, and extra giving.
This is done without complaint, and as an expression of devotion to God.

Those who love the Lord the most are those who are the most generous with their friendship
and their forgiveness of others and their sensitivity to the needs of others.
If you are callous, cold, and critical, and always demanding your rights, and are insensitive to the needs
and rights of others, then you should examine the reality of your love for Christ.

Real love is always willing to sacrifice.
Real love manifests itself in a spirit of generosity, and as the attitude that is forgiving,
and will encourage the best in others.
Those who criticize others with bitter spirits demonstrates the hypocrisy of their professed love for the Lord.
A harsh, narrow minded, critical Christian is a contradiction in terms.

Mary's love revealed her humility.
In the day of Jesus the house servant would welcome travelers by washing the dust from their feet
which were covered only by simple sandals.
When Mary anointed Jesus, she took the humble servant's part, saying,
" What others will not do, I shall, because I love him."

Christians, we must demonstrate a real