Love Seeks Expression

Background Scripture: Mark 14; Luke 7:37-50; Psalm 116
Lesson Scripture: Mark 14:3-8; Psalm 116:1-2, 5-6, 12-14

Introduction

Jesus loves us and gave his life for us (Eph. 5:25). When we love Jesus, we will be expressing our love for Him by doing things for others. All born-again believers will be thankful to Jesus and love Him above all else. Their lives will be a continuing expression of that love.

Key Verse

Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice (1 Sam. 2:19).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The account of Jesus being anointed by a woman while being at supper in Bethany is recorded in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-8, Luke 7:36-38, and John 12:1-8. These accounts all seem to be the same, yet they differ enough that there may be more than one happening.

Our lesson today focuses on the event in Mark. Jesus is eating supper at the house of Simon the leper. The Bible does not exactly say that Jesus healed Simon, but we know that He did heal lepers. He came to Simon’s house for supper, so it is conceivable that Jesus did heal him.

While they were reclining at the meal, a woman came into the house carrying an alabaster box of ointment, or perfume. It was full of spikenard, a fragrant tonic made from a plant only found in the East Indies, which made it rare and expensive. She poured the ointment over Jesus’s head, and the scent of the rare, aromatic ointment filled the whole room.

There were other people there too, and some of them were aghast and offended; they could not understand why this woman would waste this perfume on Jesus. The value of this little container and its contents was about a year’s worth of wages. This great extravagance was mentioned, and Jesus replied that the woman had anointed his body before his burial. This was in honor to Him, and it showed how thankful the woman was to Him. Her tribute to Jesus will forever be remembered as a memorial of loving devotion.

God has given so very much to us; what can we do for Him? The woman who came to Jesus in Simon’s house rendered the very best thing that she could think of. She gave the most expensive and rare thing she had. Those who complained about the waste of money missed the point of what was happening. Their covetous spirit did not allow them to see the offering of love the woman was giving to Jesus and what she was receiving in return.

This example can direct Christians to examine their own hearts and contemplate what they would do in a similar situation.

Practical Truths for Today

Christ poured out his soul unto death (Isa. 53:12). He gave his life for us; how do we give back to Him? Is there anything that is too precious for us to give up for Him? We, too, can give Him the precious ointment of our best affections: our love, our sincerity, our respect, and our thankfulness. Those who honor Christ will be honored by Him. Christ commended the woman for her affection; this act has been brought to the attention of believers all through the ages as an example of love-service.

Trying to honor Jesus with put-on, fake piety will bring failure. Judas acted pious, but covetousness and lust for money carried him to eternal destruction. The devil worked the temptation so it suited Judas’s personality perfectly and conquered him. People who have selfish, wicked contrivances in their pursuit of being a Christian seem to move forward in their plans, but they will be cursed and end in failure.

When a person feels deeply grateful for salvation, he will want to do whatever he can in return for Jesus. Wanting to do something for Jesus makes us available to help others. Service to other people is a result of one’s love for Jesus and does not bring the kind of stress or anxiety it would with a self-centered mindset.

Everyone has a need to be loved. Children need to be loved and feel approval when they are young. This gives them a sense of worthiness and security. A receiver of God’s love and forgiveness is able to pass love on to others. Having been loved by God and then in turn loving another is uniquely Christian, especially when having been mistreated or misused. People can sense when love is heartfelt. When a person is going through a heartbreaking incident or experiencing the results of sin, there is an emptiness that yearns to be filled. That emptiness can be filled by someone who knows Jesus’s love and wants to share it.

Zacchaeus was so excited to see Jesus that he ran ahead and climbed a tree. When Jesus saw him, He told him to come down from the tree because He wanted to come to his house. Zacchaeus received Jesus into his house with joy! Zacchaeus’s spirit desired to have a part of what Jesus was sharing. Others looking on commented that Jesus was going into the house of a sinner. They were not aware of what Jesus was really offering. Zacchaeus found peace and love that day and showed his thankfulness by giving and by restitution. He fully made it right with those he had been dishonest with, four times the amount he had wrongly taken. If someone finds themself in an experience like Zacchaeus, he will want to repair the wrong he has committed as much as possible. Sometimes repaying a debt may not be entirely possible, but the Lord has ways to help work things out. The Lord can make things work out that look totally insurmountable in a human’s mind. Today, when one seeks the Lord with a penitent heart, he will find Him. When that peace of forgiveness flows over him, he will be thankful and will want to spread the love to all the people he can.

God gives people forgiveness, and Satan is busy trying to stop that from happening. He makes forgiveness look impossible; those things that need to be made right look insurmountable. He makes sin look unpardonable and capitalizes on the shame it brings. When a heart is cleansed and Jesus’s blood covers all of sin’s stain, that person wants to jump for joy. The resulting glowing countenance is a joy to behold. In this context, it is no wonder the woman in our lesson used the most precious thing she could think of to anoint Jesus. The truly forgiven will not feel any limits to what they would do for another person to have the same experience.

The forgiven will have good thoughts in their heart toward other people. Being a Christian who loves God and passing that love on to others will be a priority. The redeemed will love and help others in the daily struggles of life. Smiling at others, wishing them a good day, loading groceries into a car for a lady, and letting another person have the advantage are ways of expressing God’s love. However, doing these things to try to get close to God will not work. These good deeds are rather a result of one’s thankfulness for salvation and follow as a natural reaction.

A Christian’s life consists of associating with other people and fellowshipping with other Christians. As time goes by, we get accustomed to life, sometimes letting the joy and thankfulness of God’s love slip away. This can leave us edgy and irritable and an open prey for offense. Matthew 18:15-17 says that if we have a problem with someone, we should talk to that person about the issue alone. If the problem cannot be reconciled quietly between individuals, then they should get two or three more people involved. If a Christian finds himself talking to someone else before talking to the one directly involved, he is not recognizing the forgiveness that was given to him and has cooled in his love and thankfulness to God. He should seek for a new and fresh infilling of God’s love and forgiveness. The fullness of love and thankfulness for forgiveness restores goodwill to everyone. Peace, joy, and love in the heart will make others’ failings invisible; love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8).

Love can be identified as an emotion, and when that feeling of emotional love is present, it is easy to share it with one another. However, when these feelings of love are not as strong, it does not mean our obligation to love has been suspended. Love for others should be expressed even if the feeling is not so apparent. It is then that self-denial shows what the love of God is really like. Choosing to love despite not being loved is perhaps its greatest test; it is also love’s greatest expression. God can multiply the smallest act of love into a beautiful experience in another person’s life. Jesus denied Himself and gave his life for mankind. A Christian will also deny himself to show love to others.

Illustration

One cold Christmas Eve, a man and his family experienced the expression of God’s love. It was -28 degrees with a blowing wind, and they were traveling on the Canadian prairies when their vehicle broke down, and they became stranded beside the highway. They prayed and called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a tow truck. In a matter of minutes, they all showed up at the stranded vehicle. The tow truck man had his wife drive their personal vehicle to this family’s broken-down vehicle. She proceeded to transport them to the nearest motel. The man figured out that his tow truck was the wrong style to tow the family’s vehicle, so he contacted another towing company that had the appropriate truck. He then waited there with the father for several hours until the tow truck from another town showed up and took the vehicle to a repair shop. Remarkably, this all happened on a Christmas Eve when most people are at home with their own loved ones!

Looking back over our own lives, we can ponder if God’s love has shown forth to others in like manner.

Questions

1. Can a person be too generous?
2. How do I know if I am completely dedicated to God in my pursuits?
3. Is there ever a time when saying something negative about someone else is permissible?
4. Should we serve the Lord because of thankfulness or because we fear hell?
5. What does it mean to be exclusive?

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).