This treasure held in an alabaster jar I break
To bring Him all the glory
Praise Him all creatures here below
We follow Jesus not because of the blessings that He gives rather because He is the greatest blessing there ever was and will ever be!!
Just recently I have seen the Lord provide in ways that I could never ask, think, or imagine. I have seen Him be so faithful and He has allowed me to catch a glimpse of His generous heart. Thank you to all the people who have supported me this far; whether that be through prayer or financially, you have made a huge impact and truly have been the hands and feet of Jesus. Yet, it is from God that all the blessings flow!!
As I prepare to leave for the WR in less than 3 months, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about what it looks like to worship. When we gaze at the beauty of the Lord, our only response is to worship. For there is nothing more beautiful than Jesus. No one more worthy than Jesus. And nothing can or will ever compare to the holiness of Jesus. And because He is holy that means that His beauty is infinitely pure and different than anything we have ever seen.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. It is found in three of the four gospels (Matthew 26:7-13, John 12:1-7 and Mark 14:3-9), and gives a beautiful picture of what it looks like to worship. This is the story according to Matthew:
A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My 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.”
Matthew 26:7-13
This woman was willing to give something very costly for the sake of glorifying Jesus! In Marks gospel the disciples say that the oil could have been sold for three hundred denarii. Three hundred denarii back then would have been about a years worth of income. To the disciples it seemed like a waste because their hearts weren’t in the right posture before the Lord. Although they wanted to give the money to the pour, which Jesus commanded they should do, they didn’t fully realize that the man who stood before them was the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Nothing is waste when spent on Jesus.
I can’t help but think the love that this women had for Jesus. She saw Jesus as completely worthy of all of her worship, and it spurred her to surrender.
In response to the disciples, Jesus says “wherever the gospel is preached… what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” When the gospel is preached our alabaster jars are broken. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 is says “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
It wasn’t a question whether she would give all that she had to worship Jesus. She wasn’t going through her stuff and thinking, “what little scrap could I give to this guy Jesus.” But rather it was unreserved complete surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is worth all of it and more.
How we see Jesus makes a huge difference in how we worship Him. If I saw Him as just a carpenter from Nazareth I wouldn’t give anything to Him. However, when we see Him for who He really is, as Savior and King, the one who was in the beginning and will be there in the end, it changes the way we worship.
Worship is more than a song, more than the lights and loud noises, it is a lifestyle.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Prayer
Oh Lord, that every ounce of our worship would be poured out at your feet. Fan the flames of our hearts to fall deeper in love with who you are. Show us what it looks like to worship you with pure hearts, let our lives be the alabaster jar.
Amen
