“It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” (John 11:2)

What is it that are you known for? Sometimes we are known by others for being related to someone: “This is Beth’s husband.” Or for something you’ve done: “This is the guy who egged the principal’s house in high school”, and so forth. We find in this verse what Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, was known for: “It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair”. 

Jesus said at the time that what she did for Him would always be remembered, wherever the gospel is preached (Matthew 26:6-13). And indeed it has been. Twnety centuries have passed, and still the story of how Mary loved Jesus, and what she did for Him, is being told. It will never be forgotten. She will for eternity be remembered as “the one who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair.”

Stop and think about this: Mary’s act of worship and sacrifice for Jesus would come to define her whole life, forever. What is it that YOU are you known for, in your walk with the Lord? How might others describe you in a brief sentence? Would it something like this: some great act of service, or of consistent faithfulness to the Lord? Or might your life be summarized by something less flattering; perhaps: “The one who was always complaining?” Or “The one who always has to have their way?”

It’s worth pondering. If a brief sentence like this were to be written of you, how might you be remembered? “The one who …” What?  YOU fill in the blank.  The truth is, you are doing so with your life right now