August 26, 2016 (Friday)
I woke up on two successive mornings this week with part of a song on my mind. I don’t even know the song and could not tell you what any of the words are, except “This is dedicated to the one I love.” That’s it. I remember that phrase. Boy, do I remember that phrase. I can’t get it out of my head.
I looked up the lyrics of the entire song, and found the name of the song and all the words in several places on the web, and references to a large number of music groups that performed and recorded it. Nothing I found brought to mind any ideas for a blog, until away down the list of links I ran into a sermon* entitled, like the song, “Dedicated to the One I Love.” The sermon was about Mary’s gift to the Lord at Bethany two days before He was crucified.
The preacher invited us to observe Mary’s wonderful gift, a very expensive offering of perfume with which she anointed Jesus, as an act of devotion.
The response to her action among the disciples, especially Judas, was very disapproving. “Why wasn’t this sold and the proceeds given to the poor?” he asked. The Scriptures tell us that Judas was not concerned for the poor. He only wanted more money for himself since he was the treasurer of the group and helped himself to the funds.
The other response is the only one worthy of our consideration. It is the response of Jesus. Jesus was thankful for the gift and praised Mary for her devotion. He saw the anointing as preparation for burial, which was only hours away.
Mary’s words are not recorded, but they could well have been, “This is dedicated to the One I love.”
When the pulpit committee from the First Baptist Church of Kosse first appeared on my horizon in 1959, the car they were in was driven by Jack Hunt, chairman of the committee. He later said of every car he purchased, “This is the Lord’s car,” and he meant every word of that. Each vehicle was totally dedicated to the Lord’s work, and always available whenever needed.
Is there something you have about which you can say, “This is dedicated to the Lord–the One I love?” The Apostle Paul suggests that you dedicate yourself (Romans 12:1).