I Am Anointed

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.  Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God." - Isaiah 61:1-6

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!  It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!" - Psalm 133:1-2

   There is an anointing that was reserved for the high priests in Israel, and for the holy instruments of the Temple, and this anointing is now ours.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9

   We are "a people for his own possession".  God wants us to be His.  He wants us to walk in the anointing of His Holy Spirit, bearing his name as a standard.  He wants to call us His own, and wants us to proclaim in turn that we are His.  Here is what God wants from us:

"And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head." - Mark 14:3

  God has anointed us, and what He desires from us is only what costs us the most.  If you are like me, the most costly thing you have to give is your heart.  If you are like me, your chest is an alabaster jar full of pure nard, a fragrance of value and pleasant, pungent aroma.  If you are like me you have spent much of your life with your arms crossed, protecting that jar and it's valuable contents.
   The scripture says that some who watched this anointing of Jesus with the nard said, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?"  Don't be shocked that they said this; they did not value Jesus as he should be valued.  We have all said this to ourselves, or even to God.  When we have gone our way instead of the Lord's way; when we have valued our will over His; when we have abandoned the unity of the brotherhood of Believers, we have said, "Why waste the ointment?"
   Be encouraged brothers, and let the anointing oil cover you.  Let the oil be poured over your head, drip down to the collar of your shirt, run in your beard until it drips off of your chin.  And do not hesitate to offer Jesus your heart in full, not in part.  Pour it out entirely over his head.  He is worth it.