And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Mark 14: 3-9
This woman gave her best to the one who meant the most to her. Our Lord has given us our homes and families, and we can give our best back to Him by guiding them and guarding them and giving our best.
14 comments:
Such a beautiful parallel to what we do, & ultimately for whom we do it.
Brenda
Lydia
This is so true. What we do for our families benefits all of society. I dare say it also benefits national security, but as this is not a political blog I won't go there :)
Thanks for an encouraging article!
Mari
Excellent, Lady Lydia. Such a beautiful parallel as Brenda mentioned.
One should give her family the best,and there is nothing wrong with having high quality things for your home. There are too often stresses placed on homemakers to do a lot for other people outside the home, and housewives sometimes feel pressure to give money to social causes outside the church and the family. We were taught that you gave to the church and you gave in a personal way, as well. You might not be able to go to a foreign place and teach the gospel, but you can contribute money to help someone else go. On the home front, you can help anyone directly, that you choose, by giving gifts, food, money, care packages, offering meals or whatever. But we must always give to our families and not make them think they are a second choice in importance. Sometimes other people think that Christian families should be taking most of their money and giving it to help spread social justice or equality everywhere, but as Jesus said, "the poor will always be with you". Your family years will past by swiftly and you must give them your best.
This is a very beautiful and true post. Thank you! Rosemary
Dear Lady Lydia,
First of all, this is such a lovely post...thank you!
Secondly, thank you for your kind comment about my jumper. Here is the link to the page on my blog that will give you the information:
http://honeyhillfarmshan.blogspot.com/2011/02/from-my-sewing-basketa-too-cute-jumper.html
I hope this is helpful!
Yours so kindredly,
Shan
Honey Hill Farm
And there are those who decry the choice we make to "pour ourselves out" for our family, but it is a good and sensible choice. Ointment kept sealed up in a jar blesses no one and eventually loses it's strength and becomes useless.
Good point. I dont know how many times I've been told that homemakers need to volunteer their time to work in charities. They don't understand the time it takes to do a good job at home, and how it is in a sense, an act of charity.
If you are employed outside of the home then your job gets the best of your time and energy. When you finally get home after work, you have very little left to give and it certainly isn't your best-just the leftovers.
I wondered in the past why Judas was so indignant about the expensive oil being put on the head of Jesus. It turns out, from what I can gather by reading further, that Judas was planning on betraying Christ, at the time of this incident, or had already betrayed him. It seems typical to accuse others of extravagance when the accuser has done something bad.
Many times homemakers are tempted to give away things or time, to prove that they aren't selfish, or out of guilt that they have it so good. But this is not necessary. Keep the best of your time and your work for your home. Invite others in to enjoy it but dont feel you have to break the alabaster box over anyone but Christ. By serving him in your daily work at home, you are giving him your best. Thanks for the lesson. the comment about how the oil would spoil unless used is a good example to us: Use your time and your life at home. Daughters at home need to not this too. They are often told they should be out on ministry work or out at work somewhere. They can contribute a great deal at home. There is plenty of work to do to improve the house and to make life at home luxurious and smooth. Mothers always need help so that they can do other things, and daughters need the experinece. So, girls, stay home. It is not any better anywhere else. People will use up your youth and your energy for their own advantage. Stay home til you are married and then can give your best to your own husband and home.
Hi Lady Lydia,
A very valuable lesson!
Thank you for your advice on my blog-I will certainly look into that!
Take care,
Carolyn
What a lovely reflection. Thank you so much for calling this wonderful story from the Gospel to mind again! :)
Your home and family belong to God, but you are put in charge of it to guide it with your best efforts. You are to be a good steward of your property, and a good teacher and counsellor to family members. It is not wrong to give your very best. If you need to clean, re-arrange, teach your children at home, or do things to upgrade your homelife, it is not wrong to do so. There will always be those on the outside who will say you should not have bought a new couch or a new car, or a new set of dishes, because you should have given it away instead. If you belong to a church, half your benevolence is taken care of when you contribute to the funds for it, and if you are at home, half of your giving is taken care of when you show hospitality or give good gifts to those you personally know who are in need. No one should intimidate the homemaker for doing her best. One of the reasons I have added so many lovely blogs to my blogroll, is to show the wonderful things women are doing at home that reflect their love for life and their appreciation for things that are lovely. Even if you life in an apartment, you can do many things to make it home and to be content, especially by giving your homemaking efforts your best.
That's what the Lord requires of us, to do the best we can.
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