Leave Her Alone!

“He rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6 NIV

 

 

 

What would your day consist of, if God were standing beside you telling your adversaries—Leave her alone!

 

What would it look like?

 

Think about that for a minute.

If you had the biggest, baddest, strongest, bodyguard EVER—standing right there with you throwing down an order to anyone who messes with you, how would you be different?

 

Don’t think it happens?

 

Oh, it does!

 

I love the story of the woman named Mary, who pours a bottle of perfumed oil over Jesus’ head while he’s having dinner. A dinner, mind you, that will be one of his last before he is betrayed.

 

Found in the other gospels, but detailed more in Mark’s:

 

“While he was reclining at the table, a woman (Mary) came with a very expensive jar of perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were indignant over the waste of perfume; the waste of money. They rebuked her harshly. ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus said. ‘Why are you bothering her?’” Mark 14:3-6 NIV

 

Boom!

 

Jesus threw it down!

 

He stood up for the woman whom others were demeaning.

 

Why?

 

Because her one act, which others saw as useless and wasteful, was actually meaningful and precious to him; an act that on the surface didn’t make sense to others, but made perfect sense to Jesus.

He spoke of his pending death, often. Something He told his followers to get ready for. Something He shared about the future with the 12, but they didn’t get.

 

She got it!

 

She did a small act of anointing him, albeit before his death—an important act in those days. The timing seemed backwards, but the meaning wasn’t.

 

Value didn’t matter to her

Being mocked didn’t matter.

 

Honoring the Living God. . . did!

 

And Jesus followed his throw down with a few simple words to the fellows around him:

“She did what she could.” Mark 14:8

 

Jesus made it very clear—it’s not the value, it’s the valued.

 

She knew a King was in her midst and the only thing to offer Him was the precious oil she had saved.

 

The scripture tells us it was worth a year’s wages.

 

But what value does perfume hold to the God of the universe?

What value does any material thing have to the One who made everything?

 

Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

 

But the giving, does.

The understanding, does.

The choice to believe, does.

The heart, does.

 

Isn’t that where we’re at?

 

It is a choice to give our hearts to Jesus—daily—wholeheartedly and unabashedly.

 

It is the ONLY gift we can give the King.

 

And like the others saw Mary, to the world it may seem a futile and useless act to give our hearts away, but to the One who holds our lives in His hands—well He has a different view:

 

“What does the Lord your God ask of you…to serve Him with all your heart and soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12

 

And when we do…oh when we do dear loved ones, our God shouts to the rest of the universe,

“Leave her alone, don’t bother her, she’s mine!”

 

And our protection is set for life.

 

Our empowerment should be through the roof.

 

Our desires to anoint should be greater than our desires to avoid.

 

Mary poured out her oil, we must pour out our heart.

 

A King is in our midst.

Honor must be given.

He wants just one thing.

He wants what matters most.

 

Will you give Him your heart?

 

It may seem so insignificant, but to God it is so precious and meaningful.  To God, he can only boast about you to the universe.  He can proudly say of his daughter, “She did what she could.”