4 Powerful Lessons On The Blessing Of Pouring Yourself Out
Is happiness in life found by having no need or in meeting other’s needs? Should you be about filling your cup or emptying it into someone else’s?
Sacrifice is a word Christ exemplified.
One day, an unnamed woman came and poured out a perfume worth ONE YEAR’S SALARY on Christ’s head. She angered those who perceived it as a wasteful gesture. Christ received it as a “beautiful thing” and congratulated her as having “done what she could.”
Here are the lessons that I draw from that story:
Sacrifice is “pouring out.”
When you pour out, you empty. You leave nothing behind, nothing in reserve. You give it “your all.”
Paul said from a Roman prison, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering” (2 Tim. 4:6). He had spent his entire lifetime planting churches and loving people. Only a few drops of his energy and purpose remained. He was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Is my vessel “full and getting fuller” or being tipped over and gradually emptied?
“Pouring out” is your ultimate purpose
Jesus’ whole life was focused on being “poured out”: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Serving others is our purpose also. Most people simply focus on “being served.” The “server” in a restaurant sometimes just walks around filling glasses! Can I live my life just looking for people whose lives are “half-full” and filling their cup?
I can only “pour out” what I have “taken in”
The woman in our story had purchased that expensive perfume at great price. She had prepared it for just the moment of destiny. What she poured out was not an accident or a whim. It was intentional.
I have to prepare myself to be poured out. By everyday prayer, Bible reading, reading great books, and learning conversations “I TAKE IN.” Then, I am ready at the precise moment to make a major impact when I “POUR OUT.”
When I “pour out” I will always be full!
Remember the widow who came to Elisha with no money? He told her to gather vessels and start to “pour out” her little pot of oil into a roomful of vessels. She supernaturally filled all of them from her little pot and paid all her bills!
The point? When you pour out, you will always stay full. People who “hoard” their gifts, their finances, their talents, their spare time never seem to have enough.
“He who waters will himself be watered” (Prov. 11:25)
Questions:
What is my favorite way to serve and bless others?
How can I “pour out” some of my time, my money, my love to serve my purpose instead of my pleasure?
What am I doing now to prepare myself inwardly to become a major blessing in a future strategic moment?