Our Alabaster Boxes

The Alabaster Box
Luke 7:36-50
A Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet
 36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
The Parable of the Two Debtors
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”“Tell me, teacher,” he said.41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
This story has many lessons. The first and most obvious is: do not assume that God doesn’t know your sins. Secondly, God forgives us as we repent and ask forgiveness for the acts committed against him. He loves us and wants us to know his love. When the Pharisee chose to point out that the woman who had thrown herself completely into washing and anointing Jesus’ feet was a prostitute and was, in his mind, not worthy of the honor, Jesus, knowing Simon’s mind, said that the woman’s faith was what saved her. In the parable verses 41-43 of Luke 7, we see a forgiveness that was unconditional.  This means that neither of the men had to accomplish a task in order to receive forgiveness of the debt (sin), out of this unconditional forgiveness comes love.  The woman had faith in Jesus, therefore she came to anoint his feet; and she did him the greatest honor and received forgiveness for her sins. As a result of her forgiveness, she loved much through her faith.
The woman in this story should be an inspiration to us all, especially now when our society has become a “Me” society.  She came before her Lord, and gave her most important and valuable possession to glorify and honor Him. From an early age we are taught that we should work towards self improvement by acquiring the best of everything: educations, jobs, homes, reputations, children, pets, food, etc. We are not taught to give freely and openly. Most of all we are not taught to give sacrificially.
Sacrificial giving is something that is hard to do. It requires that we retire our “Me” mentality and think on the needs of others. It means softening our hearts and making ourselves available to give more than just a twenty on Sunday morning. Now you’re probably questioning why anointing Jesus’ feet with oil from an alabaster box and washing his feet with your tears is sacrificial, and I can answer that. In the time of Jesus—and even now—Alabaster was a very rare and fine item to possess. It signified your ability to afford luxury items. Secondly, the oils would have equaled about a year’s salary for the woman. Considering the fact that the box was most likely a gift and the oil would have been her bartering tool for her daily needs (and it was all that she had), when she brought them to the feet of Jesus to bring to him the highest honor, she gave sacrificially to do so.
I have thought a lot about this and how it pertains to our walk as Christians, and I have come to realize that we all have an alabaster box within ourselves and it contains the most precious thing God has given us…our spirits. We are told in Revelation that we will cast our Crowns before Him, and we will all be rewarded for what is in our hearts. If that is the case, wouldn't we want our hearts, our alabaster boxes, to be filled with the sweetest and most fragrantly pleasing oils? Despite the forgiveness we have received for our sins, shouldn't we want to live a life that is “a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness? 4 [Which] through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4.
Because we should want these things, and to perpetuate them through our daily lives, I continue with Second Peter 1:5-9, BECAUSE, Honestly Peter nails the reason to the floor.
5 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure; they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”
He makes the point that all of these things starting with faith add up to love. And Love is what died on the cross for us in sacrifice so that we could be forgiven of our sins and Love more because our sins are great. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters”1 John 3:16. Sacrificial giving is a sign of love, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and mutual affection. All of these things Christians exhibit, it’s all part of imitating Christ. Peter gives us assurance in verses 10-11 of his second letter. And assurance is a wonderful gift.
“10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11.
We will receive a rich welcome, where we shall cast our crowns, anoint His feet, praise Him, and worship Him in unadulterated awe. Where our sins shall no longer torment us, and we shall celebrate with our Bridegroom the sacrifice He made for us so that we could enter into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven with those of us who share the same faith.