Text: Mark 14:1-11
...a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. Mark 14:1

What one thing matters most to you?

• Recreation?
• Success?
• Job Security?
• Love?

Tim Keller writes, "An idol is anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Anything that is so central and essential to your life, that should lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living."

In our text, we see an account of a woman whom Mark does not name but the Apostle John tells us she is Mary of Bethany. I believe Mark places the account of her actions here (out of sequence) in order to contrast her with Judas Iscariot, the selfish betrayer of our Lord. While Judas is shown as a sneaky coward who is used as a pawn of the religious establishment (and Satan), Mary worships Jesus and demonstrates her affection by pouring out her life savings upon Him.

We see Mary only three times in the Bible, with the first occasion being in the home of her sister, Martha (Luke 10:38-42).  Jesus commended Mary in verse 42, "There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her" (NLT).  Mary’s desire to be near Jesus and hang onto His every word was far more beneficial than running herself ragged with preparations for a meal.

I mentioned David's "one thing" yesterday in the sermon, found in Psalm 27:4.  He writes, "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." Again, this is about drawing near to God, treasuring Him above all else, gazing upon Him as a result of deep affection for Him.

The Apostle Paul also mentioned his one thing in Philippians 3:13-14: "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Notice the concentration and focus. The consuming passion of Paul’s life is summed up in this "one thing." He describes his life as involving the continual forgetting of "what is behind," and the relentless centering of his energies and interests on the course that is ahead of him. Like a runner in a race, with his whole body reaching for the finish line, he is pressing on toward the prize (from Yves Cheng). And what is the prize? If you read the entire chapter you'll see that the prize is the fullness of blessings and rewards in the age to come, most especially being in perfect fellowship with Jesus Himself!!

With the single-mindedness of an athlete straining toward the finish line, we must lay aside anything that may be in the way of our fellowship with Jesus!

Here are some topic-specific resources to help you in your pursuit of Jesus:

• How do I delight myself in the Lord? HERE
• What can God do in daily devotions? HERE
• How do I know if I really love Jesus? HERE
• Lord, enlarge my love for you! HERE
• God will hold you through your habits. HERE
• 20 questions God uses to diagnosis idols of the heart HERE
• Worship song about drawing near to God HERE