For a moment, it seemed as if nothing else in the whole world existed but Him. Though the house was bustling with activity, every distraction disappeared as she disclosed a flask of costly ointment. She alone knew how many years it had taken her to save enough money to purchase it. And now in one unreserved act of love, she poured out its entire content upon the Lord Jesus. In hushed disbelief, those assembled watched as the ointment flowed down on Him, irrecoverable. The disbelief soon turned to indignation as they tried to find the logic in what she had done. But she was undeterred by what they thought. To her, He was the most precious One in the entire universe, and she loved Him.
Judas, the most economically minded in the room, voiced what others were thinking: "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" Was it not utterly clear to her, as it was to everyone else in the room, that what she had done was a waste?1
"Waste" Defined
What is waste? Waste is spending too much on something that is worth too little. If a person pays 10 dollars for something that costs one dollar, then he has wasted his money. And if a person, for no good reason, spends eight years to obtain a degree that should only take four years, then he has wasted his time. By spending more than what is necessary he has done what is wasteful. Human logic abhors waste and seeks to acquire the most by spending the least possible. When Judas called the woman's action a "waste," he was evaluating the Lord's worth and voicing a general complaint that the woman had spent too much on something that was worth so little. The ointment's worth was exorbitant; seemingly, the Lord's worth was not. Judas's consideration was that if a person is going to pour out their life's savings on something, he should at least spend it on something worthwhile.
In a very real sense, human life can be described as a search for something that is worth pouring out our life on. Like the ointment that flowed from the woman's flask, our life is like a precious liquid that is slowly being poured out. Life cannot be saved—it can only be spent. Once poured out, it can never be regained. It is the one commodity we all have, the one commodity we all must spend, and sadly, the one commodity that most often gets wasted. For this reason, we find ourselves constantly assessing the value of things, quietly asking within, "Is this worth my time, my money, my energy, my youth, my future?" We fear repeating the history of many who apparently "had it all," and yet let their life drip away into vanity and worthlessness. They had talent, they had wealth, they had education, and they had a respected "image." But when the last drop of their lives was being spent, one could not help but feel that what they had given their lives to was absolutely worthless. Nothing could be worse than reaching the final days of our life on earth, only to find that our life had been a complete waste.
Is It Worth It?
The question therefore remains for every person: "What is there in this universe that is worth giving my life to?" The answer to this question must bear at least three characteristics:
It must meet a basic need. This is the first criterion for anything that can be deemed worthwhile or precious. If any item does not meet a basic need or benefit us in some fundamental way, then it is not worth the commodity of our outpoured life.
It must be obtainable. It would make no sense to spend our entire life on something that we could never obtain. The most precious thing in this universe worth giving our life to must not only meet a basic need—it must be wholly obtainable.
It must be desirable, attracting us and arousing our appreciation. Whatever we give our life to must be lovely and precious to us. It must stir our deepest affection and admiration.
If something does not meet a fundamental need, if it is unobtainable, and if it does not arouse our appreciation, that item is not worth the time and energy of our life. When Judas declared the woman's action a waste, he issued a verdict that Christ is not worth the commodity of one's life. According to the three criteria set forth above, was his assessment accurate and fair?
A Relentless Pursuit
Among all the needs that man has, few exist that are so great as his need for inward satisfaction. Economists have said that the driving force of any economy is man's relentless pursuit of satisfaction. We find in ourselves a yearning for something to satisfy us, so we try different things in hopes of answering our need for happiness, contentment, and pleasure. And yet from generation to generation, many wise and thoughtful men have borne identical testimony: nothing can satisfy man but God. "Vanity of vanities," cried King Solomon (10th century BC) of his life's work and pleasure before he discovered that only God could fill the void he felt within.2 Philip James Bailey (1816-1905) declared the same truth in his epic drama Festus (1839). "Naught but God," he wrote, "can satisfy the soul." Whether Solomon or Bailey, Tolstoy3 or Augustine,4 Pascal5 or de Tocqueville,6 countless people throughout history have come to the realization that regardless of what a person can attain or obtain from the world, he always carries within himself a sense that everything is vanity until he finds God as the reality of the universe.
Man needs God. This simple fact has echoed throughout the ages and appeals to our inner search for the "why" of human existence. Our generation relegates the need for God to people with a "religious" bent or personal weaknesses. However, the need for God is the most universally basic need that every man has. To need God is not religious; to need God is human. To need God is not a shame; it is a profound acknowledgement of the answer to man's search for satisfaction. Christ is the most precious One in the universe, because being God, He answers man's yearning for something eternal, permanent, and lasting.
The Bible tells us that the only way to be properly satisfied with God is to receive Christ, who embodies the infinite God.7 Christ is God Himself coming to the earth to give people the opportunity to receive Him for satisfaction. A passage in the Bible, John 1:18, says that although no man has ever seen God, Christ, the only begotten Son of God, has made Him known. Without Christ, no one can receive God for his satisfaction; but through Christ's coming, God was made known to man so that the seeking heart within man might be satisfied. The same biblical passage proclaims the unique way for man to receive God. That unique way is to believe in Christ. To believe in Him is to receive God and to have the desire in our heart eternally satisfied.
Christ therefore satisfies the first requirement, meeting the most fundamental need in human life—our need for God.
Within Reach
Although man deeply desires God and genuinely needs Him, there exists a barrier between God and man. This barrier is man's sin. God is holy. We are sinful. God is magnificent and righteous whereas we are impure and full of corruption. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even the more "righteous" ones among us must admit that we have sinned and need God's forgiveness. None of us have been able to avoid lying and filthy thinking, and we all admit to corruption in our heart. With sin comes all the sorrow and hurt that we feel throughout life. Feelings of distrust, fears, bitterness, and dissatisfaction shadow our life and deprive us of the joy that we so deeply desire. The wounds of sin within us run deep, and the pain of our transgression haunts us at undesirable times. The only way of escape is for our sins to be completely removed and for us to be brought to God.
Through His death for us on the cross, Christ, as the righteous One died on behalf of us, the unrighteous, and removed the barrier of sin in order to bring us to God.8 Without His death, we would be left to bear the guilt of our sin and experience eternal separation from the eternal God after whom our heart so desperately seeks. Through His death on the cross, however, the unobtainable God has come within our reach to be our satisfaction. Hence, Christ meets the second requirement for us by making God obtainable.
Unrivaled
When we observe that He died for us in order that we might obtain forgiveness, we see something of love in its highest expression. There was a tender feeling within Him toward us, which compelled Him to bear the pain and penalty of sin which we should have borne. In that dying act, Christ gave Himself up for us willingly and without reservation. Why? Because He loved us.9 We cannot help but sense, though only in part, the depth of that love which has constrained, moved, and compelled even the most unemotional and cold-hearted of men.10 While Christ hung on the cross, the book of Isaiah says, "He poured out His life unto death."11 Like that woman who poured out her ointment, He defied human logic and poured out everything He had for our sake.
Paul of Tarsus was one of the keenest intellects of the first century and was an esteemed figure in Judaism when he realized the supreme preciousness of Christ. As educated in logic and rhetoric as he was in religion and ethics, Paul was highly rational in his assessment of things and followed nothing blindly. One day, this man who was so trained in thought and so discerning in his decisions received a revelation of Christ.12 After that day, he considered all his attainments and all that the world could provide alongside Christ and what Christ had done. He came to the conclusion that nothing could compare to Christ. In his own words, he said, "what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ...on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."13 Paul recognized the surpassing worth and supereminence of Christ and could do nothing else but spend his entire life loving and gaining Him.
Pouring Out
The story of Christ's death is the story of His love for man. The story of the woman in that house is the story of her love for Christ. Having beheld the Lord and His sweetness, and having heard beforehand of the wonderful death He was to die for her and for all mankind, she poured out all she had and all she was on the Lord. To Judas, the woman's action was a waste. But to that woman, it was not a waste but a declaration that there is nothing in the universe more precious than Christ. He meets man's need for God, He removed the barrier between man and God, and His lovely Person in glory will forever be the greatest attraction in this universe. There is someone worth pouring out our entire lives on. This someone is Jesus Christ.
History shows that this woman was not alone. Throughout the past 20 centuries, thousands of precious lives, heart treasures, high positions, and golden futures have been poured out on the Lord Jesus. To Judas, and those like him, what these ones have done is a waste. But to those who have poured out everything on Christ, what they have done is not a waste but a fragrant testimony of His preciousness. Like the woman, they are undeterred by what others think. He died for them. He removed the barrier between them and God. He met their deepest need by bringing them to God as their satisfaction. To them, as to that woman, He is the most precious One in the entire universe.
And they love Him. 
1 Matthew 26:6-13; John 12:1-8 (back) 2 Ecclesiastes 3:11 (back) 3 Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910): "God is He without whom one cannot live." (back) 4 Augustine of Hippo (354-430): "For thou [God] hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee." (back) 5 Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): "All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever means they employ, they all tend to this end.... This is the motive of every action of every man.... And yet after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look." (back) 6 Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859): "It was not man who implanted in himself the taste for what is infinite and the love of what is immortal; these lofty instincts are not the offspring of his capricious will; their steadfast foundation is fixed in human nature, and they exist in spite of his efforts. He may cross and distort them; destroy them he cannot."(back) 7 John 14:6; Colossians 2:9; Matthew 10:40 (back) 8 1 Peter 3:18 (back) 9 Galatians 2:20 (back) 10 2 Corinthians 5:14 (back) 11 Isaiah 53:12 (back) 12 Acts 9:1-20 (back) 13 Philippians 3:7-8 (back)
When we see all that the Lord Jesus has done for us, we cannot help but desire to receive Him and know Him. If you would like to receive Him right now and begin a life of knowing and loving this precious One, please pray:
"O Lord Jesus, You are so precious! I love You. Thank You for dying for me. Thank You for taking my place on the cross and forgiving me of my sins. Lord Jesus, nothing can compare to You. Come into me, Lord Jesus. I give my life and my all to You. Lord Jesus, I love You."
