Extravagant Faith

This is an excerpt from a message I gave yesterday at my church of membership.

John 12: 1-8

In the King James Bible, the term spikenard is used to describe the oil that Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet. It was most likely an extract of the plant called Indian Spikenard; scientifically known as Nardostachys jatamansi. This would have been a rare and expensive herbal product in those days. It only grows at high elevations in the mountains of China and Nepal, where it has been used as an herbal medicine for centuries. According to the writer and herbalist David Osborne, “The Indian Spikenard ointment that anointed the feet of Jesus had a relaxing, loosening and antispasmodic action to soothe pain, relax sore, tired muscles, and to help him let go of his suffering and attachment to the physical body and its inevitable traumas in preparation for the transformation and metamorphosis that he was about to undergo. “

I can only imagine how that scented oil got to Israel from the Asian mountains. Peasants would have harvested the rhizomes, which grow rather like potatoes on underground stems. Those rhizomes would have then been carried by man or beast to lower cities where they would have been packed for shipment. The packages would be shipped by caravan overland, or by ships at sea to cities in the Middle East where the plants would be extracted, compounded with other ingredients, and made into a medicine which could be used for everything from curing a stomach ache, to anointing a dead body. To say that a full pound of the stuff would cost a year’s wages is no exaggeration. This brings me to my point: your faith should be extravagant.

I’m not talking about giving up all your money to the faith, or becoming a nun or monk. I am talking about living a life completely devoted to God’s purpose for you, no matter the cost. Extravagant faith is the set of actions that we take daily to represent Christ to others. It can be as simple as refusing to let anger and resentment rule our lives, or as complicated as standing up against an evil system. It is believing that God is truly in charge of our world, and He is continually renewing it. It is believing that God gives us the gift of freedom to live our lives fully and joyfully, no matter the circumstances.

Wayne

Amen brother!

... and it is sometimes hard to do when the current situation does not fit what I expect! It is especially most important to focus on God then, and not me. As long as I am judging my situation or the world by my expectations or desires I have not given those up to God.

Amen Wayne ! Christ first .

Amen Brother, I totally agree and yes it is a daily walk that exhibits the marks of Christ.

Thanks, everybody. This was one I just had to do. My pastor was surprised that anyone could preach about nard.

Wayne

Wayne excellent point, faith that is taken lightly never grows.