Mark 14

I know Mark 14 was yesterday's reading, but I wanted to comment on the first section of that chapter. It is the story of the woman who broke her alabaster jar to anoint Jesus. The disciples are mad that such an expensive perfume was "wasted" by pouring it on Jesus' head.
What came to my mind was the expense of building a new church building. We are building a $1.2 million building for Phase 1 and later with the addition of Phase 2 it will be around a total of $2 million. This congregation has taken on this challenge and is giving with such generosity that this task can be completed sooner then we ever expected. And this is grrrrrreat!
I compare this to the alabaster jar because I know many people in our congregation are giving more generously then they have before. To this woman that jar was probably one of the most expensive possessions she had. Our church family is giving of what they have because they see this need and want to give our church a building from which to minister to this community and world. Some have even stepped into sacrificial giving by giving above 10% of their income to fund our general budget and this project.
My prayer is that once we do have the building paid for (not just built) is that we will recognize that when we give generously God can do miracles. If every member would just give to that tithe (10%) level the ministries we could provide to this community and world would at least double what we are doing now. We could be vital partners with ministries in Iowa County, a orphanage in Romania, a hospital in Nigeria, or a church in India. We could spread God's love and grace to those who are often overlooked because funds are not available. By continuing to grow in our generosity we would be pouring the blessings we have received on to others, who are themselves the image of Christ.