Broken and Spilled Out

Written by Bill George and Gloria Gaither

Sung by Steve Green

Imagine taking your most prized possession, something valuable, and breaking it—not accidentally, but on purpose. Your reason for doing so? To honor someone. You might think that’s crazy. Why break something like that and waste it on someone else?

In Mark chapter 14 we read about a woman who did just that—she came up to Jesus, broke open a very expensive jar of perfume, and anointed him in a beautiful act of worship.

We don’t know who this woman was, but we know that she must have loved Jesus an awful lot to take something so costly and use it to honor him. Maybe he saved her from a life of sin or healed a loved one, and this act was one of thanksgiving for his mercy in her life. Whatever it was, she was driven by the love of Jesus, she broke open something that was obviously of value to her, and she poured its contents out onto Jesus.

Later, in Mark 14, we are presented with the scene from the Lord’s Supper. As Jesus leads the first communion, he compares the bread to his body and the wine to his blood. Pay attention to the words that are used in verses 22-24. He broke the bread (symbolizing his body) and describes the wine as his blood that is poured out for many.

Sound familiar? The woman who anointed Jesus took her valuable treasure, broke it, and poured it out onto Jesus, for Jesus. Not too long after, Jesus’ body was broken and his blood poured out. He was broken and poured out for us. Both actions, driven by great love.

Our acts of worship need to be like that of the woman. We are to give Jesus our all because he gave his all for us. We may be broken, physically or metaphorically, but in times of brokenness we must still pour out our lives and our love to him in worship. Remember this as we come together on Sunday evening to worship the Lord and take part in communion. * Remember this anytime you are preparing your hearts for worship.

Listen to “Broken and Poured Out,” and meditate on the beauty of the woman’s worship.

Jesus died a horrific death—his body broken, and his blood spilled out—to save us from our sins so that we could one day be with him. He did this because of his great love for us. Therefore, we worship him. If someone saved your life, you would thank him. How much more then should you praise the one who saved your soul.

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:19-20

Blessings,

Bailey Ramsay

*On Sunday evening, our church will be gathering for the first time since March to praise the Lord through song. We are going to have a laid-back worship service outdoors (socially distanced and masked-up) so that it is safer to sing with one another. For details, visit our August Newsletter