Examples To Do More With Than Just Admire

Mark 14:1-15.  We see two sides from Mark's perspective.  On one side, people seeking to kill Jesus.  The other side, a woman who honors Jesus in whatever way she could.  Contrasting perspectives, but the motivations of both are clear.

As we walked through the passage we talked about two examples we needed to follow (the people seeking to kill Jesus was obviously not one of them!).  The first was the woman and the second was Jesus.  Here's some of what I pointed out about the woman that we ought to seek to not just admire, but imitate in our lives:

1. She honored Jesus in the way she could (14:8).  She couldn't honor Jesus in every way, but she did it in the way she could.  We cannot do everything either, but we ought to seek out ways we can honor him and do what we can.
2. Nothing given to honor Jesus was a waste for her.  After pouring the ointment on the head of Jesus she was scolded by the disciples.  This was about a years worth of wages just "wasted" on Jesus.  But not for this woman.  Sure, she could've done other things with the money she could have earned by selling this stuff...but she used it to honor Jesus.  What is it that people could point to that SHOWS how much you value, love and seek to honor Jesus?

It's one thing to admire what this woman did, but it's another to imitate her actions.  And we will only model these same types of things if we value Jesus as much as she did.

The second example we looked at was Jesus.  Here are a couple things I pointed out that we see in his example that we ought to seek embracing in our lives:

1. He had an unconditional sacrificial mindset.  Even though one of people closest to him was going to betray him (14:18) - and he knew another was going deny him as well - he still went forward in sacrificing himself for their benefit.  If we're honest, we struggle greatly with this.  We simply don't have the character to do this with ease.  With people or with God.  When we're not treated the way we think we ought to be by people, we are inclined to stop denying ourselves and serving them.  When God doesn't come through in a way we want Him to, we are inclined to stop serving Him and sacrificially offering ourselves to Him daily.  We must fight this tendency and pursue imitating Christ's unconditional sacrificial mindset.
2. Focusing on future things helped him sacrifice in the immediate.  He is looking forward to the 'party' he will have in heaven (14:25) and it's this type of focus that helps him endure the turmoil that's ahead for him.  It's that future reality for himself and that of all mankind that produces the steadfastness to continue living sacrificially.  In contrast we can complain about present struggle and pain and thus concentrate on ourselves and lose sight of other people in need as well.  

We all know seeking to embrace the perspective of Jesus is not easy, but it is something that should not just be admired from a distance either.