Their life looked good. Actually, it looked like they had a great
life. Even so, they did not see their life as good and certainly not great.
There did not seem to be much enjoyment, life had become a list of daily
details. At the end of the day, they
were exhausted, feeling empty. They both admitted that they had lost sight of
the purpose of doing life together.
How do we live with a lasting purpose?
In the ancient world, there was a follower of
Christ who demonstrated living with purpose beyond the daily details. The
details are as relevant today as they were in the years gone by: While he was in Bethany,
reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar
and poured the perfume on his head. Some
of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste
of perfume? (Mark
14:3-4)
From the outside looking in . . . giving our whole life to Christ
can seem like a waste . . . until we look deeper.
Mark does not name the woman; however, we know she was a
follower of Christ. Her actions puzzled
everyone. There were different reasons
for ritual anointing, which included the custom to anoint for burial and for
kingship. She had understood Christ’s
message . . . that his time had come . . . and anointed him for burial. At that same time, it appears that she had
been able to see there was more to come . . . the “not yet” . . . and anointed Jesus
for kingship.
Her message is clear: the presence of Jesus was of greater
worth than anything she possessed. And, she
understood her purpose . . . to love and serve Christ. The legacy of her
purpose impacted every generation since that moment.
The answer to the question is different than we might expect. How do we live with a lasting purpose?
Surrender everything . . . every detail of
life . . . and purposefully love and serve Christ. It might sound like a “church”
answer; however, it is the most courageous thing we can do . . . give up
everything and follow Christ.
The payoff? Living as a servant of
Christ makes a difference.
Ask God . . . what do I need to surrender to
You today . . . to live with the purpose of loving and serving you?
Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . loving and serving
Christ.
Pastor Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights
Reserved)interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/