While at the ECO National Gathering earlier this month, I heard a fantastic talk by Danielle Strickland based on Mary’s anointing of Jesus (John 12:1-10) that I keep thinking about.

By way of reminder, Mary took some perfume, worth about a year’s wages, poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. It was an extravagant act, and Danielle speculated that Mary did this because of her great love for Jesus. Danielle went on to point out that when we are in love, three things get triggered in our brains: risk, pleasure and attachment. We certainly see this in Mary.

She took a big risk, both financially and socially, in doing this for Jesus. Yet it was a pleasure for her to do so and it clearly attached her to Jesus who proclaimed that what she had done would be part of proclaiming the Gospel moving forward.

But what about us? If we claim to love the Lord, what risks are we taking to express that love? How about pleasure? When someone talks about Jesus do you just light up? Or how about attachment? Can people tell you have been with Jesus?

Good questions to wrestle with, and I pray the Lord will renew our love for Him.