Her Story, Her StrengthSample

Mary of Bethany: A Strong and Beautiful Fragrance

Mary walked into the room, clutching her best perfume to her chest. She could feel people turn to look at her as she passed, but she kept her eyes on her Lord.

Jesus smiled at her. Jesus never shooed her away from listening and learning at his feet. When Martha scolded, Jesus had defended Mary, saying she had made the right choice. Looking at him now, Mary was certain she was making the right choice again. For her, Jesus was always the right choice.

Mary opened the jar of perfume. A beautiful fragrance filled the air. She poured a generous amount of perfume on Jesus’s head, anointing the Anointed One, God’s Messiah. Then she poured the rest of the perfume onto Jesus’s feet. It was an extravagant amount of perfume to put on someone at one time, but Mary wasn’t going to hold anything back.

The Bible tells us the perfume Mary poured on Jesus in this story was worth what a worker would have made in a year–which would be like tens of thousands of today’s American dollars! Mary was giving the very best she had to Jesus. And Jesus was very happy with her offering–not because it was so expensive but because it represented something much deeper: Mary’s all-in, extravagant love for her Lord.

Why did Mary love Jesus so much? The same reason any of us love him–because he loved her first. Jesus invited Mary to be close to him and follow him, just as she was. He gives the same invitation to you. You can come to him, just as you are, and be his dear friend.