As I remember, the anticipation was overwhelming for my three brothers and me as we rode to my Auntie Beat’s house, wondering if that wonderful aroma of fresh homemade bread would permeate the air as we entered their tiny row house. Both my parents had several siblings, so we had lots of aunts and uncles, all of whom were close relatives who lived in nearby villages when I was a young boy growing up in rural South West England. Fortunately, my dad owned a car as part of his business. Otherwise, we would have had to travel by bus or train. Dad’s car allowed us to visit relatives on a Saturday or Sunday. Of all the relatives, Auntie Beat’s was always our favorite destination as she and Uncle Arthur always made such a fuss over us. Our visits would always involve staying for mid-afternoon tea time, during which my aunt would prepare tiny sandwiches for the adults and some sweets (desserts) for the boys, but only after some homemade bread, which she knew we loved. My mum often cautioned us not to ask for an end piece. We didn’t have to because, with a twinkle in her eye and the biggest, kindest smile, she would always say, “Who wants an end piece?” She knew what we craved, and we would, often in unison, blurt out, “I do, I do!” Smothering our warm piece of bread with delicious Devonshire (clotted) cream and a dab or two of homemade strawberry jam, we were momentarily carried away into Auntie Beat’s delectable land of ambrosia. I can see her now, sitting there smiling, with a knife in hand, just waiting to ask who wants another piece. She would keep offering end pieces until only one or two tiny, rectangular white chunks of bread were left, much to my mum’s chagrin. I don’t know who was the happiest; Ted, Bill, Derek, and me, or if Auntie Beat and Uncle Arthur were, who so loved to spoil us. Years later, I realized what we experienced was Auntie Beat and Uncle Arthur’s form of extravagant love for us.
They were poor economically, much poorer than my family and the rest of our relatives. Uncle Arthur was a farmhand, primarily summer work, and he did odd jobs for villagers. They lived in a meager government row house called a Council House in a tiny village, one they rarely left as there was little money for any extravagance in those difficult post-World War II days. But when Ted and Jessie visited with their boys, it was their opportunity to pour out their love and affection in a special way. I now understand why Mum cautioned us not to eat too much, as she didn’t want to cause any hardship to them. My mum was so wise as she also knew that they were thrilled to be able to put on a show for us. I only saw my favorite Auntie Beat one more time after leaving England in 1954. That was twenty-four years later, in 1978, when I took Liva back home to visit where I spent my childhood. It was grand! We visited all my relatives who welcomed us so graciously. But the highlight was visiting my Auntie Beat and Uncle Arthur, who had recently moved into a small one-bedroom cottage with a brand-new indoor toilet. They were so proud of what we consider an everyday necessity. Not them, who by then were well into their 70s; this was a luxury in every respect. To our silent amusement, dear Uncle Arthur was so proud to demonstrate it by flushing it several times. As Auntie Beat was ailing at the time, recovering from a stroke and early dementia, it was left to Uncle Arthur to fix tea time. While there was no homemade bread, he had been to the baker’s shop and must have bought some of everything there. It was a feast of delicious baked goods. He was so proud of the extravagant table he had set before us, as was Auntie Beat sitting there with that same twinkle in her eye and beautiful smile. How wonderful it was to experience them pouring out their love, their extravagant love, on us a quarter of a century later. The rest of the story of our visit is at the end of my testimony. But now, let’s take a closer look at this concept of extravagant love and its recent impact on my walk with Jesus.
Mary’s Extravagant Love
If you follow my testimonies, you know I belong to a group of Christian men from various churches in Upshur County who call ourselves the Band of Brothers. We meet weekly at 6:30 a.m. to study the Word and call it Fellowship Friday. We have used Max Lucado’s book They Walk With God for the past few months as our study guide. Using his words, it is about “40 Bible characters who inspire us.” As only Max can do, he shares how God shaped the lives of these mostly simple, everyday people for His purpose and then explores how their stories can be used by God to help guide our own paths of serving Him. I find the stories to be powerful influences on me, and I am so grateful to study them with a group of men with such biblical insight. Recently, we studied the story of Mary, who “took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard (a perfume), anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3 NKJV). Max and various Bible commentaries explain how expensive a jar of this perfume would be in today’s money, a year’s wages. The disciples who were present didn’t get it as usual. They considered Mary’s act foolish and exorbitant, with Judas even admonishing her: “Why was this expensive oil not sold and given to the poor?” As if Judas cared for the poor anyway, he soon would betray Jesus for far less. Jesus promptly rebuked them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me” (Matthew 26:10 RSV). Jesus knew that Mary had taken the most valuable thing she had, something she had saved, for the right moment to demonstrate her love for Him. He knew that whenever He spoke about loving God, Mary was listening.
“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)
Jesus knew that Mary was living out His greatest commandment by doing something unique and extravagant for Him, not irrational, rash, or unwise, as the disciples thought. This was a divine appointment for Mary, an opportunity to show how much Jesus meant to her and how much she loved Him! I love how Max, in his book, emphasizes ‘we all have opportunities for extravagant gestures’ where we will have an opportunity to show how much we love Jesus by pouring out our affection on someone else. He calls this type of opportunity a divine appointment. He writes, “Seize it, don’t miss it.” Mary didn’t! She didn’t care what anyone might say; she grabbed that jar of oil and went about pouring her love for Jesus on Him. We should all be so bold, so extravagant!
This story resonated with me on several accounts. It made me think of my Auntie Beat and Uncle Arthur, who were very poor, but they always made our visits as fit for a king as possible. It took Mary’s story to make me realize, in later years, that they were being extravagant towards us because they loved us so much. That aroma of freshly baked bread from Auntie Beat’s kitchen left such an impression on me that it still lingers today. Whenever I smell bread fresh from an oven, just for a moment, I am reminded of a time 75+ years ago when my precious Auntie Beat and her excited nephews filled with anticipation. I cherish that memory, and I always will. I wonder if, times after Jesus’ resurrection, whenever the disciples would get a whiff of the oil that Mary anointed Jesus with, they were reminded of the time when she poured out a jar on Jesus? And I also wonder if they finally realized Mary’s extravagant act wasn’t foolish after all. I want to think so.
Mary’s story has profoundly affected how I perceive the Bible, the greatest story of extravagant love ever written, and how it impacts my walk with Jesus. The timing of that lesson was perfect as I began to think of growth areas for 2025. Since I was saved, two scripture verses have played a huge role in my journey. The first is, “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV). In times past, parents often would have their child stand against a wall and mark how tall he or she was and then repeat the process to see how much growth took place. Peter’s words tell us we must do something similar regarding our spiritual growth. We should routinely measure our growth to determine where more focus is needed to grow in “God’s grace” and in the “knowledge of Jesus.” Why? Scripture tells us we must. What must we do then? “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15 KJV). I don’t know about you, but that’s very clear to me, there is no wiggle room.
Like Mary, I try to pay attention and listen to what Jesus is saying. I’m always looking for that takeaway or nugget from a sermon, a Bible Study, a devotional reading, etc., that can help me grow. I can only work on one or two things at a time, and when I do, I can often feel and see the growth taking place. This has to be an ongoing process, just like an athlete prepares for events. There are no shortcuts to growth; it requires dedicated time and effort. Ask yourself, “How did I grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus in 2024?” Are you satisfied that you lived His greatest commandment and the second one that requires pouring extravagant love on others, not ourselves? Do you think God is satisfied? How you answer these questions can be helpful to how you approach 2025. That is if you are serious about growing. Just like athletes, get yourself a coach or personal trainer. I personally recommend Jesus (see John 15:5) so that nothing impedes your development.
“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)
My second overarching verse is from James 1: 22-25 (NIV). “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…not forgetting…but doing it… and be blessed in what (you) do.” Mary didn’t merely listen to Jesus’ words; she acted on them and was blessed for it: Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Mark 14:9 NIV). I love this verse because it reminds me that being a Christian isn’t passive. It is about putting love into action: It’s about doing, it’s about repetition, it’s about assessing how effective you are and adjusting. Simply, it is about extravagantly loving God and others…every day. Whenever I find a biblical takeaway, I try to apply that verse or piece of scripture to my life by doing it. Otherwise, it is just in one ear and out the other. I have found that applying His word to my life is the only effective way for me to grow in my walk with Jesus. This is nothing more than the definition of obedience, hearing, and doing. The rewarding thing about being obedient is you get to experience God working through you. If that isn’t extravagant love, I don’t know what is!
Recently, around the start of the New Year, another scripture verse,“Behold, I will do a new thing,” (see Isaiah 43:19) came to my attention. Initially, it didn’t register when used in a New Year’s devotional I read. Then, on Sunday, January 12, we had a speaker presenting his first-ever message/sermon at a morning worship service. He began with Isaiah’s words, “I am doing a new thing.” He did a nice job explaining what that verse meant to him. The next day, I opened the first of the five devotionals I am currently reading. You guessed it, it was about Isaiah 43:19, the NIV version this time: “See, I am doing a new thing!” The more I read the devotional message, the more I felt like God was saying to me, “Behold Al, I need you to do a new thing.” I think God likes the word “behold.” He uses it 1,298 times in the King James Version to say PAY ATTENTION. Through prayer, my Bible reading, while at church, during our Fellowship Friday meetings, and during my daily walks with Jesus, I am trying to discern what, if any, new thing He has for me to do.
It is an exciting time trying to discern how I’m growing in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior and how effective I am at pleasing Him and bringing Him glory, all to try to find what new thing He has for me. I think about my wasted pre-saved years being indifferent to what God wanted of me. I believe back then, if someone asked me, “Did I follow Jesus,” I’m sure I would have answered, yes, absolutely! If the follow-up question was “how?” What a gotcha question that is! If I had been truthful, I would have quickly realized that I wasn’t and that I had kept Him in the background of my life. How little did I know? You can’t live a selfish, worldly life and be a faithful Christian simultaneously. I have learned that God not only extravagantly loves me but also loves you the same amount and desires a close relationship with each of us. That’s why God sent Jesus to die for us and raise Him from the dead to give us eternal life. Jesus affirms that act of extravagant love: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9 NIV). Now that I am saved, I want Him to work through me so He can share His extravagant love with others. I’m hoping my new thing is that he wants me to do things more extravagantly on His behalf. That’s what I plan to focus on until I hear otherwise.
Before I close, here is the rest of my Auntie Beat and Uncle Arthur’s extravagant love story. Uncle Arthur was the bell ringer for his village church. Every Sunday morning for decades, no matter the weather, he would walk a narrow lane to the country church to ring the bells, alerting the villagers it was time to come and worship. In 1980, Liva and I revisited Uncle Arthur, and he took us on that stroll down the lane and through a little gate into the churchyard. In the middle of the graveyard stood a beautiful old church much larger than I expected. For ten centuries, there was a church located there. This one was last restored in 1744. Before entering, we stopped to pay our respects to my dear Auntie Beat, who had passed away a year prior. Then we moved on and entered the bell tower, where he lovingly discussed his routine. What a simple gesture, yet extravagant in its own way, that he performed for decades, and how those church bells had to have been such a comforting sound to all who could hear them ring and the message they conveyed: ‘Come start your Sabbath by worshiping Me, and I will refresh you.’ Those bells still ring the same loving message on God’s behalf today as they have for centuries. Those who truly love Him and put Him first travel their own path to their church to worship Him and praise Him for the extravagant love He pours out upon us.
God is still inviting people to come to not only worship Him but also to serve Him by loving others. And I firmly believe that Mary must have also thought that we should do so extravagantly as there is nothing indifferent about loving and serving “with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind.” If you are not saved and desire to have someone extravagantly love you from now and throughout eternity, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and believe in Him so that you can have everlasting life. Do that with haste, and then find a Christian friend or a pastor to ask for their help so you can begin your walk with Jesus. Do that with a willing heart, and you will start the most extravagantly loving journey imaginable. You will become a Child of God and a friend of Jesus, who will send His Holy Spirit to help you. I pray that blessing for you.
Until next time, Godspeed, Al
Feature Images: © Al Tucker; Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.; Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
