Day 17...Jesus first, then the poor

Read this passage and think about it:

3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar[b] of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages.[c] It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

So what do we take away from this? Is He really saying that time with Him is more important than serving the poor? Now of course I know that the skeptics will say something like...He was only talking about that specific period in time because he was physically dwelling on earth. I say no way!!! We must realize that it all starts with Him! Our service, our worship, our teaching, our fellowship...it must all begin with our love for Him. How can we ever be effective as the body of Christ if we don't root our being in relationship with Him first? Isn't He the one that does the work? Everything we do must begin with our acknowledgement of His will in our lives. I believe that if we were to truly grasp that concept we would begin to see an abundance of fruitfulness in the church at large because social justice, caring for the poor, loving our neighbors, and many other fruits would be the inevitable result of acknowledging Christ first.