Love in the small stuff

Jesus was at dinner when a woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume. To show she loved Him, she poured it on His head. The other people were angry. "Why did she waste it?" one asked. "It could have been sold, and all that money given to the poor!" But Jesus said, "Leave her alone; she's being nice to me. You'll always have the poor, and you can help them whenever you want. But you won't always have me."

How do you show you love someone? Maybe you give them a big hug, draw them a picture or just say, "I love you."

But there are lots of other, smaller ways to show love. You feed your dog because you care about him; your parents take you to the doctor's when you're sick because they love you and it's important to keep you healthy. Even when your mom shampoos your hair, she does it because she loves you.

In this week's Gospel story (Mark 14:1-15), a woman shows her love for Jesus in a strange way: She pours perfume on Him. People think she's crazy, since the perfume is worth a lot of money and poor people could use that money.

Jesus stops them. Just like your mother washing your hair, He says that even something like putting perfume on another person is good when it's done with love. Jesus didn't want people to stop helping the poor -- He wanted people to start thinking about making the small things they do every day into ways to show love for others.

Next time you're getting a shampoo or opening your lunch at school, remember what Jesus said. Then you'll see that you're loved in lots of little ways, and you can give that love right back.

(04-10-03) [[In-content Ad]]