Looking at other people’s responses to God’s generosity, forgiveness and grace will never be enough, for God speaks to each one of us personally and asks us to respond individually.
The characteristics of extravagance are challenging: we’re taken out of our comfort zone, out of the politeness of the tit-for-tat society we inhabit, away from the world of quid pro quo into the realm of total surrender, radical devotion and actions which may well be misunderstood, frowned upon and opposed.
The responses to extravagance may well be hard to deal with: disdain, disgust, confusion, bewilderment, rebuke, even betrayal. But this story shows us that God’s response to extravagance is worth it. He rejoices; He blesses; He is excited by extravagant worship and passionate devotion to Him and rewards it in ways beyond our wildest imaginings.
So what will our response be? Will we settle for mediocrity? Will we draw back from total surrender, from fervour and passion and emotion because we think it’s messy, reckless, a waste of our time and money? Will we be like Simon or the disciples or even Judas? – full of pragmatism and good reasoning, but ultimately missing the point and having no heart? Will we be like Michal, David’s wife, who despised his extravagant worship of God, greeting him with sarcastic words designed to cut him down to size? (2 Sam 6:20) Will we spend our lives in true British decorum, never really risking anything for God because we’re not really aware of the enormity of the debt He’s cancelled for us and so we love little? Or will we be like this woman, prepared to risk everything, prepared to break open our alabaster jars of expensive perfume, whatever that may look like in our lives, prepared to do anything, absolutely anything, out of devotion to the God who has done everything for us?
