Jesus' Heart for Mary's Comfort
In the book of Mark chapter 14 a story is told about the heart Jesus has for Mary's comfort. When Jesus was almost finished with His ministry and preparing for what was to come, He sat in the home of Simon in Bethany and while they were eating Mary entered the room and in preparation for Jesus' death and poured out expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' feet. She poured out from her life's savings (full year's wages) in this oil upon her Lord Jesus to prepare him for His death. This act of love from the heart of Mary is the same act of love that we provide to the widows and orphans we care for. God has placed that same passionate, giving, and unconditional love in our hearts to pour out from our "alabaster box".
When those at the table with Jesus saw what Mary had done they became outraged, shocked at the waste of money. They scoffed her. But, Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed." Mark 14: 6-9 NLT
It is our prayer that you will discuss Jesus with everyone you know and in so doing discuss Mary's Comfort Ministries for the heart of our ministry is the heart of Jesus' ministry.
"A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity"
-Psalm 68: 5-6
God's heart for the orphan
Adapted from Family Life.com
Getting to know someone well is hard work. It takes time and persistence. We must discover new things about their character, their likes, and their dislikes. It means learning what pleases them and angers them. It means finding out what their priorities are—what really matters to them.
The same is true for God. Knowing God requires discerning what He likes and dislikes, what pleases Him, and what angers Him. Knowing God requires finding out what really matters to Him.
In his book, Fields of the Fatherless, C. Thomas Davis writes, “If you searched the Bible from front to back, you'd find many issues close to God's heart. But you'd also notice three groups of people coming up again and again. They appear so many times, in fact, you have to conclude that God mentions them purposely to make sure they are at the top of our priority list.”
Who are these three groups of people? They are orphans (or fatherless), widows, and aliens (or strangers). It is inescapable that these three people groups especially matter to God. "Cursed is the man that withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless, or the widow." Deuteronomy 27:19
Deuteronomy 24:19 illustrates God's care and provision for them, and His desire to see His followers acting as His hands and feet in meeting their basic needs: “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
In Proverbs 23:10-11, God’s concern for the fatherless is evident in these words of warning: “Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you.”
God doesn't stop at caring for and defending those close to His heart; rather He places care for the least among us at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ. In fact, in James 1:27, God defines pure religion in the context of widow and orphan care: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Not only has God commanded that His people care for those in need, but He has also ordained and modeled the institution of adoption. Anyone who has placed his or her trust in Christ has been adopted into God's family, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Ephesians 1:4b -5 tells us: … “In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will…”
Caring for the fatherless and the widowed does not simply consist of compassionate and kind acts, nor is adoption an additional means of growing our families to meet our own desires. Rather, caring for the fatherless and the widowed is at the very heart of God. Caring for the fatherless and widowed is about obedience … it is about knowing the God whom we serve.
“Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute"
—Psalm 82:3
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Matthew 19:14
"At that time I will put you on trial. I will be a ready witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, who deprive the foreigners living amongst you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.”
-Malachi 3:5 NLT
© Mary's Comfort Ministries, Inc. 2009