Keeping It Real

“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.” - John 12:1-3

Please read this passage a few times (and maybe John 11 as well) and try to visualize this scene. Imagine and feel the love, joy, and thankfulness around that dinner table.

Jesus had been a friend of Lazarus and his two sisters for some time, ever since they had invited Him into their house during an earlier visit to Bethany when He was travelling through Judea spreading the Word. They heard His message of life, received Him as their Messiah, and became personal friends with Jesus. Jesus was also the One they sought out (John 11) when Lazarus became very sick. Jesus came to them and raised Lazarus from the dead.

Imagine the love and gratitude that the three had for Jesus, and Jesus’ love for them. They not only received the hope of a future resurrection but had also seen their dear brother restored to life. (It is also possible, but not certain, that “Mary” may also be the “Mary Magdalene” from whom Jesus cast out seven demons.) Martha prepares a feast and welcomes Jesus to the table. Mary expresses her love for Jesus by anointing Him with very expensive perfume, possibly costing her entire life savings, and then wiping His feet with her hair. While this action was certainly prophetic, inspired by the Holy Spirit, preparing Jesus for His upcoming crucifixion and burial, still try to imagine and feel a love and friendship so great that you would be willing to totally lay yourself out and do this.

The house was filled with the fragrance, and the neighbors who flocked in to see Jesus and Lazarus must also have taken in the rest of the scene, the love, sacrifice, joy, and thanksgiving being felt and lived out in that home. Because of this so many of them also became believers that the authorities decided to try and kill Lazarus as well as Jesus, to stop this infectious love from spreading.

To me the scene around Lazarus’ dinner table is a perfect picture of what our personal relationship with Jesus should be, and what our collective relationship with Him and other believers (a.k.a. the Church) should be in practice. We’re seated at the table with our Lord and friend, and none of us has done anything to earn that position. The attitude of our heart should be grateful, humble, and sharing in the love of our Savior.

Which brings us to you and me today. I called this devotion “Keeping it Real” because I find that my own personal relationship with Christ and others gets crowded out pretty quickly by the daily, mundane demands of life and ministry. My relationship with Christ gets reduced to doctrine or even legalism, pride creeps in, and the mechanics of supervising our local church (budgets, personnel problems, etc.) easily replaces those humble, loving relationships we see in John 12. We need to make a conscious effort daily to go back to our “first love,” and remember Whom we serve and why. Without this real relationship, our own lives and the life that we present to others becomes increasingly empty, just another philosophy among many offered in the marketplace.

So many people are searching for true love, security, friendship, and purpose. They won’t find this in religion or a political movement, and that is not what we have to offer. Whether you work full time for Christian Union, Morgan Stanley, the government, or wherever, our calling is to stay personally seated at this table with Jesus and invite others to join us in this relationship with the Living Christ.

Erik Codrington