“Why This Waste?”

 

 

“A woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, ‘Why this waste?’” (Matthew 26:8).

 

This passage has meant much to me over the years. While John’s account focuses on Judas’s reaction, Matthew points the finger at himself and the rest of the disciples. John had his purpose in focusing on Judas, his context makes this clear, while Matthew wants to include us all in the response, “Why this waste?”

 

As I was pondering this passage this morning, I wondered if I have wasted my life for Jesus. Not “wasted” in the sense in which we usually think of the word, but rather, as the woman in our passage, have I poured out my life upon Jesus? Of course, the world…and sadly the professing church…will consider this a waste in the normal sense of the word; but what the world and religious people consider a waste, God considers a precious offering (Romans 12:1 – 2).

 

Will St. Peter, or whomever has duty that day, ask me at the Gate, “Have you wasted your life for Jesus our Lord and for others?”

 

To waste our lives for Jesus, to allow the perfume to flow and its fragrance to fill the room, means that our vessel must be broken – no brokenness means no release of the fragrance, no release of the fragrance means no waste.

 

When the fragrance is released not everyone smells the same thing, to some the fragrance is “an aroma from death to death, to others an aroma from life to life” (2 Cor. 2:16).

 

The world and the professing church insist on the pragmatic; they don’t want to see us so devoted to Jesus Christ that we stop feeding their pragmatic systems that are self-perpetuating and ever growing and consuming resources. But this passage is really about us, about me and you and about our devotion to Jesus. We need not answer for others, but we will surely answer for ourselves.

 

If we are pouring our lives out upon Jesus, then it will make no practical sense in the eyes of others – an offering is an offering, the object of the offering is God and not me, not you, not the pragmatic. Once God receives our offering, God does with it as He pleases, we relinquish control to Him. Our offering is, of course, ourselves – Christ demands no less, He demands everything (Mark 8:34 – 38).

 

So, is my life a waste for Christ?

 

What will I answer St. Peter at the Gate?

 

What will you answer?