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.
Mark 14:3 NIV
Every Thursday I have great fun visiting the memory-care wing of a local nursing home and singing for my friends. But last week, as I slid my guitar out of its case, I was dismayed to see that one string had come completely off its tuning peg. Being presented with the options of, putting my guitar back in the case and singing acapella, spending several minutes trying to replace the string, or playing with just five strings, I chose the latter. Sheepishly I explained to everyone that things were going to sound funny and then set off plunking away the best I could. Yet, in spite of my embarrassment, we actually had a great time praising God together. We sounded far from professional, but I felt sure that Jesus didn’t mind my out-of-tune instrument any more than our off-key voices.
Now playing with a guitar string missing was challenging, but God reminded me that for some of those folks, even their best days were five-string days, at best. I remembered that the songs we sing are a treasure, not because of a nicely tuned instrument, but because of the joy they bring to the heart of God. We are all like the alabaster jar in today’s verse. We have a precious treasure inside. Even though our jar may begin as outwardly beautiful, it is also fragile and aging. What matters is not how impressive our outside looks, but the value of the treasure on the inside. And it is only when our jars begin to crack, that the fragrant treasure hidden on the inside can pour out and its sweet fragrance fill the room!
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