Mrs Rachel Jackson
Pastor's Wife
Broadway Baptist Church
Muskegon, MI
Adorning Our Hearts
A recent study of Mary of Bethany, found in Mark 14, has brought out 3 ways she testified of a heart adorned for worship of our Saviour.
1. She had an unreserved worship: in verse 3, Mary gave all of what was precious to her. She didn’t hold back anything for herself or allow her mind to fear for her future needs. The oil in the alabaster box would have taken a year’s wages to purchase. Imagine in your mind’s eye with me, pouring out a blessing to the Lord with no thought of your own needs or wants. Giving such a gift even in the midst of criticism from those closest to you. Mary did not base her “religion” on what Jesus had done for others, though she must have been touched by Simon, the once Leper, and the many others who had received healing from Jesus. No, her interaction with Jesus was personal, it was intimate, it was between her and her Lord.
2. She had an unselfish worship: in verse 4-5, Mary’s focus was on Jesus, and Him alone. She was not at His feet like so many had been, asking for something from Him. She was there to give to Him. When was the last time you spent time sitting before Him and just praised Him for Who He is? Thanked Him for all that He has done? Not asking for anything or
bringing your list of needs before Him? No one was there to applaud her or say, “Wow, what a testimony”.
3. She had an undenying worship: in verse 8-9, her perspective was one that understood this work was bigger than herself. Jesus said of her “She hath done what she could.” Can He say that of us? Mary had heard Him say what He was on His way to do. In a matter of days, He was going to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world. But to her, it was more than for the world, I believe she sat at His feet knowing it was for her. I don’t ever want to get over what the Gospel has meant in my life. Is your life’s purpose about spreading the Gospel? Do you have a relationship where you spend time worshipping at His feet?
Don’t neglect adorning your hearts this Christmas and may it become a part of our walk with the Lord in the year to come.
Maria Dyer was born in 1837 on the mission field in China where her parents were pioneer missionaries. Both her parents died when Maria was a little girl, and she was sent back to England to be raised by an uncle. The loss of her parents, however, did not deter her young heart from the importance of sharing the gospel. At age sixteen she, along with her sister, returned to China to work in a girl’s school as a missionary herself. Five years later, she married Hudson Taylor, a man well-known today for his life of ministry, faith, and sacrifice.
Hudson and Maria’s work was often criticized—even by other Christians. At one point Maria wrote, “As to the harsh judgings of the world, or the more painful misunderstandings of Christian brethren, I generally feel that the best plan is to go on with our work and leave God to vindicate our cause.” Of their nine children, only four survived to adulthood. Maria herself died of cholera when she was just forty-three. But she believed the cause was worthy of the
sacrifice. On her grave marker these words were inscribed: “For her to live was Christ, and to die was gain.”
In a day when many are self-absorbed and care more about what they can get rather than what they can give, we need a renewal of sacrificial love. It was God’s love for us that sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and it is that kind of giving love that our world needs so greatly today. When we love God as we should, our interests fade as we magnify Him.
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