Real Men Love Jesus

Hello! I hope you're having a good day. In any case, it's about to get better! At least, that's the way it goes for me when I hear a word from God. So today, I invite you to take in the first eleven verses of John chapter twelve. This is a short but poignant account of how one woman showed her love for Jesus. Okay, I'm a man, but I'm not ashamed to say I love Jesus. Real men do! How about you? Sometimes I wonder how I can really show him. Maybe I can learn something about what makes him feel loved from this story.

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. (v. 3)

This, by the way, is not Jesus' mother or Mary Magdelene, but the sister of Lazarus (see yesterday's blog). There are three qualities about her demonstration of love that jump out at me. First, it was a costly act. The text explains that it was worth a whole year's salary for a common worker! Even if Mary was fairly well-to-do, she really made a significant sacrifice. When you really love someone, you'll do things like that on occasion just because you want to show them how much they mean to you. I think of the kind of sacrifices that people make for their lovers, or that parents make to provide their children with something really special. It's a sacrifice, but it's done with great delight!

Second, it occurs to me that her action is a good example of reckless love. It wasn't considered proper in ancient Jewish society for a woman to let down her hair in public. Eyebrows were certainly raised at the dinner party! But Mary doesn't seem to care. She's caught up in a moment, and it's as if there's nobody else in the room but Jesus and her. Love will do that to you! It can be a little reckless and lavish. The reaction of the one you love means more to you than anyone else's reaction.

Third, she made Jesus feel loved by her authentic humility. Tending to someone's feet is, well, a humble task. I can testify that clipping my nine-year-old son's toenails certainly brings me back down to earth! In Mary's culture, tending to others' feet was servant's work. (And she's apparently a fairly wealthy woman and the host of this social event.) Yet her love and respect for Jesus are so moving that she falls to his feet in the most humble display of love I can imagine.

So how can I show Jesus how much he means to me? I bet if I am willing to make some significant sacrifices in his name and be a little lavish and reckless about it, at times, and serve him with the utmost respect and humility and give without any pretense, Jesus is going to feel deeply loved by me. And that will make me very happy!

God bless you! I hope that you'll share what you hear God saying to you in this story. Just sign in and comment below. Spread the blessing of this blog to people you know by sharing it on your Facebook page (click "f" below).