The
Alabaster Box
by C. H. Mackintosh
It is very needful to bear in mind, in this
day of busy doing and restless activity, that God looks at everything
from
one stand point, measures everything by one rule, tries everything by
one
touchstone, and that touchstone, that rule, that standpoint is Christ.
He values things just so far as they stand connected with the Son of
His
love, and no farther. Whatever is done to Christ, whatever is done for
Him, is precious to God. All beside is valueless. A large amount of
work
may be done, and a great deal of praise drawn forth thereby, from human
lips; but when God comes to examine it, He will simply look for one
thing,
and that is, the measure in which it stands connected with Christ. His
great
question will be, Has it been done in, and to the Name of Jesus? If it
has,
it will stand approved, and be rewarded; if not, it will be rejected
and
burnt up.
It does not matter in the least what men's thoughts may be about any
particular piece of work. They may laud a person to the skies, for
something he is
doing; they may parade his name in the public journals of the day; they
may make him the subject of discourse in their drawing room circle; he
may have a great name as a preacher, a teacher, a writer, a moral
reformer;
but, if he cannot connect his work with the name of Jesus - if it is
not
done to Him and to His glory - if it is not the fruit of the
constraining
love of Christ, it will all be blown away like the chaff of the summer
threshing
floor, and sunk into eternal oblivion.
On the contrary, a man may pursue a quiet, humble, lowly path of
service, unknown and unnoticed. His name may never be heard, his work
may never
be thought of; but what has been done, has been done in simple love to
Christ. He has wrought, in obscurity, with his eye on his Master. The
smile
of his Lord has been quite enough for him. He has never thought, for
one
moment, of seeking man's approval; he has never sought to catch his
smile
or shun his frown; he has pursued the even tenor of his way, simply
looking
to Christ, and acting for Him. His work will stand. It will be
remembered
and rewarded, though he did not do it for remembrance or reward, but
from
simple love to Jesus. It is work of the right stamp - genuine coin
which
will abide the fire of the day of the Lord.
It is an unspeakable mercy to be delivered from the time-serving,
men-pleasing spirit of the present day; and to be enabled to walk, ever
and only before the Lord - to have "all our works begun, continued, and
ended in Him."
Let us look, for a few moments, at the lovely and most touching
illustration
of this, presented to us in "the house of Simon the leper, there came
unto
Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and
poured
it on His head, as He sat at meat." Now, if we inquire as to this
woman's
object, as she bent her steps to Simon's house, what was it? Was it to
display
the exquisite perfume of her ointment, or the material and form of her
alabaster box? Was it to obtain the praise of men for her act? Was it
to get a name for extraordinary devotedness to Christ, in the midst of
a little knot
of personal friends of the Savior? No, reader, it was none of these
things.
How do we know? Because, the Most High God, the Creator of all things,
who
knows the deepest secrets of all hearts, and the true motive spring of
every
action - He was there in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
His holy and all-penetrating eye went right down into the very depths
of this woman's soul. He knew, not only what she had done, but, how and
why she had done it; and He declared, "She hath wrought a good work
upon
me." In a word, then, Christ Himself was the immediate object of this
woman's
soul; and it was this which gave value to her act, and sent the odor of
her ointment straight up to the throne of God.
He not only vindicated her at the moment, but handed it down into the
future. This was quite enough for the heart of this woman. Having the
approval
of her Lord, she could well afford to bear the "indignation" even of
"the
disciples," and to hear her act pronounced "waste." It was sufficient
for
her that His heart had been refreshed. All the rest might go for what
it
was worth. She had never thought of securing man's praise, or of
avoiding
his scorn. Her one undivided object, from first to last, was Christ.
From
the moment she laid her hand upon that alabaster box, until she broke
it,
and poured its contents upon His sacred Person, it was of Himself alone
she thought. She had a kind of intuitive perception of what would be
suitable
and grateful to her Lord, in the solemn circumstances in which He was
placed
at the moment, and, with exquisite tact, she did that thing. She had
never
thought of what the ointment might fetch; or, if she had, she felt that
He was worth ten thousand times as much. As to "the poor," they had
their
place, no doubt, and their claims also; but she felt that Jesus was
more
to her than all the poor in the world.
In short, the woman's heart was filled with Christ, and it was this
that gave character to her action. Others might pronounce it "waste;"
but we
may rest assured that nothing is wasted which is spent for Christ. So
the
woman judged: and she was right. To put honor upon Him, at the very
moment
when earth and hell were rising up against Him, was the very highest
act
of service that man or angel could perform. He was going to be offered
up. The shadows were lengthening, the gloom was deepening, the darkness
thickening. The cross - with all its horrors - was at hand; and this
woman
anticipated it all, and came, beforehand, to anoint the body of her
adorable
Lord. And mark the result. See how immediately the blessed Lord enters
upon
her defense, and shields her from the indignation and scorn of those
who
ought to have known better. "When Jesus understood it, he said unto
them,
Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For
ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in
that
she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
Verily,
I say unto you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world,
what
this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
See that you keep your eye directly upon the Master, in all you do.
Make Jesus the immediate object of every little act of service, no
matter what. Seek to do your every work so He may be able to say, "It
is a good work
upon me." Do not be occupied with the thoughts of men as to your path
or
as to your work. Do not mind their indignation or their
misunderstanding,
but pour your alabaster box of ointment upon the person of your Lord.
See
that your every act of service is the fruit of your heart's
appreciation
of Him; and be assured He will appreciate your work and vindicate you
before
assembled myriads.
Thus it was with the woman of whom we have been reading. She took her
alabaster box, and made her way to the house of Simon the leper, with
one
goal in her heart, namely, Jesus and what was before Him. She was
absorbed
in Him. She thought of none beside, but poured her precious ointment on
His head. And note the blessed issue. Her act has come down to us, in
the
gospel record, coupled with His blessed Name. No one can read the
gospel
without reading also the memorial of her personal devotedness.
Empires have risen, flourished, and passed away into the region of
silence and oblivion. Monuments have been erected to commemorate human
genius,
greatness, - and these monuments have crumbled into dust; but the act
of
this woman still lives, and shall live forever. May we have grace to
imitate
her.
Reference Used: Things New and Old by C. H. Mackintosh