Her search for significance continued.
Shy, soft-spoken, blending in with the background, seems to be her profile. Yet, The Holy Bible, God’s Word, mentions her in all four Gospels. And, as the scriptures record, this woman had only spoken a few words to Jesus, yet three specific times Jesus affirms her actions.
What did she do? Did she bring others to Jesus? Did she go and speak of Him from town to town? Did she start a ministry, write books, serve the poor, nurse the sick? No, none of these, at least not directly.
Who is this woman, and what did she do? This woman is Mary of Bethany, and as Mark 14:8 explains, “She did what she could.”
Mary’s search for significance was over!
How did she do it? Reading her story, it appears that Mary observed Jesus teaching, loving, and healing people. Mary was valued when Jesus affirms and defends her actions when she sits at His feet, listening intently to His teaching, and again when she anoints Him with costly perfume. This position Mary took, at His feet, was her M.O. (mode of operation). The book of John shows Mary again falling at the feet of Jesus after He has called for her.
How did Mary get to that place of humility and with such great impact?
She did what she could. Which meant Mary stopped looking at what others were doing, and she did what she could. Mary paid attention to what Jesus was saying, not what social media was saying. Mary remembered what Jesus had done for her.
We are all like Mary in one way—we are all drawn to Jesus. Designed with a hole in our heart that only Jesus could fill. But what we can learn from Mary is she “let herself be drawn to Him.” She didn’t let anything stand in her way. Not her pride, failures, or what others thought about her. Mary fixed her eyes on Jesus and did what she could. And Jesus commended her actions.
Friends, I pray you, and I both choose to fix our eyes on Jesus, our Savior, Prince of Peace and choose to do what we can for Him.
