Session 12
Broken and Spilled Out
From Rich Toward God
What is Jesus worth?
As we see in Mark, even those closest to Jesus had different answers. To Mary, Jesus was worth pouring out even her most treasured possession. For Judas, Jesus’s life was worth a mere 30 pieces of silver.
Mary’s gift represented her life poured out to God—an act of undignified, pure worship. It had no practical significance, as some complained about. But although it may have looked like waste to an outsider, Mary’s gift was not random. Her extravagant gift was a response to God’s extravagant love.
Today, our giving still has practical uses. But what if our first motivation was something different than practicality? What if we, like Mary, viewed our giving as a response to God’s generosity towards us? If we adopted this mentality in giving, don’t you think the practical needs of ministry would be taken care of?
REFLECT
- Consider Jesus’ words to Mary and Martha in Luke 10. What is the difference between Mary and Martha’s response to Jesus?
- What mentality do you have about giving? Is God asking you to shift it in any way?