November 27, 2005

Giving: Unlocking the Heart of Good Stewardship

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.

"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

~ Mark 14:3-9

Of all the acts of servanthood He witnessed, one touched Jesus' heart so deeply that He memorialized it forever. One would expect the spotlight of His attention to fall on some grand sacrifice, something of "high impact." But what left Christ's heart pierced was a woman named Mary and her alabaster jar.

An alabaster jar - we all have one. They come in different shapes and sizes, and sealed within is all that we prize - our treasured earthly possessions. Occasionally we break the seal, remove the lid and share - as we know we ought. But we do so carefully, reservedly, with control, anxious all the while to put the lid back on. So much of life is spent preserving and conserving what we hold in our alabaster jar.

Mary's servanthood brings each of us to a fork in the road. What will you do with your alabaster jar? It's a stewardship decision each of us must decide. Ultimately, good stewardship is not a matter of wise money management or even responsible giving. It is a matter of extravagant love. Have you taken in the love Christ extravagantly poured out for you? Has it left your heart so filled with gratitude that you can't help but lavishly pour it out in return? Is His love transforming your prayers from "Give me, Lord" to "Use me Lord - all that I am and all that I hold dear"?

In the words of author Ken Gire, "The Savior had come to earth to break an alabaster jar for humanity. And Mary had come that night to break one for Him. It was a jar He never regretted breaking. Nor did she." Nor will you.

The Stewardship Commission