Ministering to the King

I was studying my Bible this morning and was reading in Matthew 26 and the Lord really opened my heart to see something that I think I have missed in that passage before. Verse 10-11 say," But Jesus, aware of this said to them, 'Why do you bother this woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have me."  I've read this passage many times before, but I had never stopped to think about how Jesus was saying that it was ok, that it was even really good, that this woman made ministering to Jesus a priority. Not doing good, or donating money to the poor or whatever tops the list, but just loving on Jesus and ministering to His heart. That got me to thinking about how I can minister to Jesus' heart today. He isn't exactly a physical, tangible presence, so it is hard for me to anoint His head with expensive oil...So what does that look like for me today? I have been thinking about ministering to Jesus' heart a lot lately, and how in the Psalms it talks about "Blessing the Lord," I mean, how often really do we stop to think about blessing the Lord, or praying a blessing over Him? I know it sounds maybe a little crazy, but I feel like a little girl kissing her Daddy's boo boo or placing a bright pink Dora the Explorer band-aid on it, and I know that it might not do much in a physical sense, but I think we all know that moments like that stick in a Daddy's heart-memories and it grows and strengthens the Daddy-Daughter relationship. After all, that is what this life is about right? Being in relationship with Jesus? And if we are in close relationship with the Father, then our lives will be GLOWING Jesus and living a gospel centered life goes hand-in-hand with that, so sharing the gospel should be second nature to that. I think that because the church is Christ's bride, and because a husband and wife are one, that the best way to minister to Jesus' heart is to minister to His church, His body, His beloved people and in that way I can minister to Him, just like Mary did. I think too that if we are taking care of each other with that perspective, that we are anointing Jesus' head with oil, then our lives will be the testifying to His love, grace and forgiveness...Living a gospel-centered life.
So, how are you going to anoint Jesus' today?
Just some food for thought...

“I discovered later, and I'm still discovering right up to this moment, that is it only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith.” 

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer