Human beings have an almost universal tendency. We put ourselves into the story.
Watching the news we wonder what it would be like to be the subject of that story, or we internally express thankfulness that, “It wasn’t about us.”
One of our favorite responses in conversation is, “Here is what I would do.”
When reading the Bible we generally pick one of the characters in each story to identify with, and that becomes the basis for the lesson we receive.
We are always putting ourselves in the story.
I recently reread a story I have studied, taught and preached on dozens of times, and I was blown away by new things God revealed.
Most shockingly, I wasn’t the character in the story I thought was, but I will save that for later.
Mark 14:3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
There are three lessons that jumped out at me in my most recent reading of this passage.
Lesson one: offerings
We make offerings to the Lord on a regular basis, but there was Continue reading “Who are you in the story”