“She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Mark 14:8-9).
We try … sometimes harder than at other times … to be better people. We want to do more for others … be kinder to others … more active for the Lord … be better examples to those around us.
We try to be a source of encouragement to those who need it … a source of strength to those who might be feeling weak and discouraged … to be like the good Samaritan … to be like Andrew and share the message of Christ with those we love.
Yes, we try to do all of these things and more and we begin to feel so inadequate that we haven’t accomplished what we intended to do or become what we intended to become.
No one is perfect who walks on this earth except the One who lived and died so that you and I might have the hope of eternal life! Yet, being human is not an excuse to sin or to do less than we can.
Jesus has never expected perfection, but He does expect us to give Him our best. We might be heard to exclaim audibly or express the following thoughts to ourselves: “Lord, am I doing the best I can?” “Am I getting this way of life described as being a Christian right?” “Am I really obeying you as I should be … from my heart?” And then, we might be saying, “Am I taking advantage of the opportunities given me to serve you and others?”
If you take the time to read the events recorded in Mark 14:3-9 you will be blessed. For in this brief glimpse into the final days of Jesus Christ living on the earth prior to His crucifixion we see just how much Jesus is aware of what we do and why we do it!
What we must come to realize is that even the smallest of deeds done in the name of the Lord that are within the boundaries of His will matter! Mary was willing to make a sacrificial gift to the Lord that was both costly and significant. Mary anointed his feet and then dried them with her own hair. The fragrance of her deed filled the room. You see … this woman gave her very best!
Having witnessed the horrible and costly events of two hurricanes over the past couple of weeks … the loss of life and property … the loss of heirlooms and family treasures that had up until then been preserved, destroyed … simply brings one to weep.
Having witnessed the horrible and costly events of two hurricanes over the past couple of weeks has also renewed my faith in the goodness of people … in the willingness of others to not only empathize but to do what is necessary to restore lives back to some sense of normalcy.
But there is something else to be noted … the marshalling of the army of the Lord … the people of the Lord and the sheep of His pasture … doing all that they can to help alleviate the suffering and sorrow of their brethren. What a wonderful thing to see! Can I hear an Amen?
It may be that you are not in the position of doing very much in these areas right now, but each of us can be faithful to do our very best at the task, the duty, the responsibility, the opportunity to do good and serve others that our Lord has given us to do for Him!
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36)
May the legacy we leave be one of “we have done what we could!”
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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