October 4

Acceptable Offerings

She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. — Mark 14:8 BSB

Jesus gave a wonderful commendation when He said of Mary, “She did what she could.” Even if she had been a thousand times more gifted, she couldn’t have done better. There are two lessons here. One is that Christ only asks for what we have the ability and opportunity to give. He doesn’t demand the impossible. The smallest offerings are acceptable if they are truly our best.

A child once gave her teacher a handful of wilted weeds and grasses, calling it a bouquet. The teacher didn’t reject the gift or criticize the poor, withered weeds. She accepted it with sincere gratitude, just as if it were a beautiful arrangement of flowers. The child did what she could, and the teacher saw the love behind the gift, which made it precious. In the same way, Christ accepts even our poorest work or homeliest offering if it is truly our best.

But there’s another side to this. “She did what she could” means that we should be doing what we can. Are we always giving Christ our very best? Do we sometimes offer Him the faded flowers, keeping the fresh ones for ourselves? Do we always do our best work for Him? Are we faithful?

If we’re only doing half of what we could, we can’t claim the comfort of this commendation. The widow’s mites were acceptable because they were all she had, but they wouldn’t have been as praiseworthy if a rich man had given them. A child’s small service is beautiful for a child, but it wouldn’t be enough for an adult. We must truly give our best if we want Christ’s commendation.