Just
days away from his crucifixion, Jesus was sharing a meal with some
friends in a
little village outside of Jerusalem.
While
he was eating, a woman came in, broke open a very expensive jar of
perfume and
poured it on Jesus’ head. Immediately,
those gathered began complaining about this woman’s actions and
how this
perfume could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the
money could
have been given to the poor (Mark 14:5).
As
they
continued to grumble, Jesus turned to them and said, “Why are you
bothering
her? She has done a
beautiful thing to
me…. She did what she could!” (verses 6-8).
I
love
the line, “She did what she could”.
This woman did not
fix every
problem. She did not stop
the hate that
the religious leaders felt toward Jesus.
She did not take away the pain that Mary had to endure as
she watched
her son being crucified. She
did not
take away the disciple’s fear. She
did
not convert the entire village to belief in Christ. She did, however, do
something kind, and
Jesus praised her for it. She
did what
she could.
I
wonder what would happen if I approached the new year with that
same
attitude. Instead of
looking for excuses
and reasons to remain uninvolved in what is happening around me,
what if I did
what I could to support and encourage others?
What if I forgot about me and put you first? What if I took some action,
however big or
small it may be, and trusted that God could use it?
I
do
not know exactly what would happen, but I do know this: 2019 would be a good year,
because I would be
invested in making things better.
Unlike
other New Year’s resolutions, this one is not about being better,
working
harder or doing more. It
is simply about
changing our attitudes and seeing what we can give rather than
what we can
get.
Forget about doing
something big
and splashy. Forget about
whether you
will be noticed or not. Forget
about the
cost. Just do the good
that you can
do. Something good will
come of it and
God will be praised.
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