我父親在倫敦的一場派對上看到我母親時，就對她一見鍾情。而父親為了再看到母親，成為第二場派對的不速之客，接著他又籌辦了第三場。最終，父親開著他最珍愛的古董轎車載母親到鄉間兜風。

此後，他們倆墜入愛河。但問題是，那時我母親即將前往秘魯宣教。父親送母親去了機場，五個月後，他自己也飛往秘魯，並向母親求婚。他們的愛情故事最觸動人心的是，父親為了購買機票，賣掉他那輛心愛的轎車。

如果你問馬利亞（馬大和拉撒路的姐妹）什麼物品最珍貴？她會讓你看到她那瓶珍貴的「真哪噠香膏」（約翰福音12章3節）。如果，當時你也在馬利亞和馬大為耶穌預備的那場筵席上（2節），親眼看見馬利亞把整瓶香膏倒在耶穌的腳上，你就會明白耶穌對她來說，是那麼重要，那麼寶貴！

對我母親而言，父親賣掉車子不僅是為了買機票，更表明母親在父親心中是何等珍貴。而馬利亞用香膏抹耶穌的腳還有更深的意義，她是為耶穌的安葬作預備（7節）。就像馬利亞一樣，當我們願意為上帝犧牲自己最寶貴的，效法祂為我們所作的偉大犧牲，那麼我們就參與了祂的救贖計劃。

My father first locked eyes on my mother at a party in London. Next he gate-crashed a second party, then organized a third, just to see her again. Finally he asked Mum out for a country drive, picking her up in his old Rover sedan—his treasured possession.

Mum and Dad became sweethearts, but there was a problem. Mum was about to move to Peru to become a missionary. Dad took her to the airport, then five months later arrived in Peru himself—to propose to her. And the best part of the story? He’d sold his beloved Rover to pay for the plane ticket.

If you would’ve asked Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, what her most treasured possession was, she’d have shown you a precious bottle of “expensive perfume” (John 12:3). And if you’d have been at the party she and Martha threw for Jesus (v. 2) and watched her lavish that bottle’s contents on his feet, you’d have known just what Christ meant to her. He was that precious, that valuable.

For my mother, Dad selling his car wasn’t just about a plane ticket. It was a sign of how much he valued her. And Mary’s actions had deeper meaning too—she was preparing Jesus for His burial (v. 7). Like her, when we sacrifice for God what we treasure most, we take part in His redemptive work by echoing His great sacrifice for us.