UCLA Basketball Coach, John Wooden, said, “Make each day your masterpiece.”
Mondays feel more synonymous with monotony than masterpieces. We have our task lists set before us. In this season, many have felt the weight of exhaustion due. The uncertainty bogs us down with the question, when will life resemble any semblance of normalcy.
I recently heard the song Alabaster by Rend Collective. The song’s inspiration comes from the woman in the Gospels who broke an alabaster box made of stone with expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet. The disciples deemed this act as wasteful, but Jesus deemed it beautiful and significant. The gospel writers commemorate her by saying that we will remember this act even today.
Alabaster began to play over our Amazon Echo in the middle of the day. These words stopped me for a moment:
I will bow my life
Alabaster, REnd Collective
At Your feet, at Your feet
My lips, so lost for words
Will kiss Your feet, kiss Your feet
Imagine this moment with Jesus. You begin to realize as the song describes the “gravity” of a resurrected Savior. Like this woman, you sense your brokenness and un-deservingness only to discover His radical grace.
The idea of “bowing” and “kissing feet” seems strange at best. When you engage your heart to the good news of the gospel, you become lost for words. Think of the person on a Sunday morning who has their hands lifted high during the worship song. Consider the friend in your small group who cannot share their story of experiencing Jesus without welling up with tears.
Wooden describes a day becoming a masterpiece in this way, “You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
That sounds like what Jesus has done for us. He inspires us to live out the gospel by giving to others. We offer our lives out of the sheer gratitude of His grace, not to puff our egos or earn more points. The picture of a broken alabaster box gives new meaning to making our days a masterpiece.
Today, you have the opportunity to make this day a masterpiece. Reflect and respond to these questions:
- How has the good news of Jesus’ grace engaged my heart?
- What would it look like to offer my life as a masterpiece to God?
- Who is one person who can I give expecting nothing in return?
While you reflect on these questions, you can listen to Alabaster by Rend Collective below.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash