Mary Magdalene was one woman who defied protocol by breaking her Alabaster Box most unusually. Emptying an entire bottle of costly perfume at Jesus’s feet, she was soon wiping His feet with her hair as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

And guess what? Those around her thought she was being extravagant and wasteful, but the Master thought otherwise-what Mary had done, Jesus said, had earned her a place in history wherever the gospel is preached, all because she had broken her Alabaster Box. You can read various accounts of the same story in Matthew 26:7-13, Mark 14: 3-9, Luke 7: 36-50 and John 12:1-9.

We all have an Alabaster Box that’s unique to us, and until we break our Alabaster Boxes, we may never become all that God has called us to be.

Here’s what the Master had to say in John 12: 7-9 after Mary had anointed His feet – “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” 

Mary could have prepared a fantastic meal for the Master and garnished it nicely using the best spices in town, but it would have just been another meal because she hadn’t discerned her assignment in that gathering.

So, is it wrong to want to wait on the Master? Of Course not, but there’s a time and place for everything.

In other words, don’t be caught running around for the Master when you ought to have been at his feet; by choosing to anoint Jesus’s feet that day, Mary had tapped into her purpose for that occasion.

Now, breaking your Alabaster Box may not earn you worldwide fame among men, but you’d be celebrated in heaven because you’re fulfilling your purpose.

So, find out what your Alabaster Box is, break it at the Master’s feet in reckless abandon and watch eternity tell your story.