INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP (PART 5)
Our third and final glimpse of Mary is in John 12. Once again, she is at Jesus’ feet. This time, she is pouring out her most precious possession, costly perfumed oil, upon them and wiping it with her hair. This same Mary was again breaking all the rules to sit at His feet and intimately touch it with her hair. This time, Martha was silent. Perhaps seeing the bond her sister had with Jesus, provoked her to jealousy and she too chose to sit at His feet. But another critic arose. A disciple complains about Mary’s waste, and once again, her friend, the One in whom she knew she could trust, the One who displayed His power through her family, the One who accepted and validated her, the One whom she loved, and she had become His beloved, it’s this Mary, that Jesus once again comes to her defense and says, “What she had done, will be a memorial to her through the ages.”
The oil was so fragrant that it permeated the room with a delicious, pungent aroma. The scent lingered on Jesus. Days later as He was on His way to the cross, the smell of the beautiful aroma reminded Him of His beloved, Mary. Even as He hung on the cross, the sweet, sweet fragrance lavished on Him by a simple girl from Bethany, would validate His Father’s love and add to His strength to cry out, “It is finished.”
Mary of Bethany is not mentioned again in scriptures. Yet, I somehow know that she was there during the crucifixion, there in the upper room, and there during the persecution of the early church.
How I long to be like Mary, always found at the feet of my beloved friend, my teacher, my Lord, my God, my Bridegroom, my Life, my Breath, my Song. To waste my time and possessions lavishly on Him all the days of my life, so that I may behold His glory.
What about you? Do you want to know Jesus intimately like this? Are you willing to break all the rules and the religious traditions to know Him, personally and intimately? Are you willing to run to Him with your disappointments, sorrow and disillusionments even though your heart is screaming God, where are You? Can Jesus choose you to risk appearing unkind or uncaring through various trials that may come to you in order to display His glory? Do you want Jesus to answer the cy of your heart because you are His intimate friend and because He is Lord? And finally, are you willing to lavish your most precious possessions, your very life itself, as a sweet smelling, lingering aroma on the One you love?