One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in the 12th chapter of John.  Lazarus has been raised from the grave, and a supper is being prepared to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.  Martha is in the kitchen serving, Lazarus is at the table with Christ, but Mary is sitting once again at the feet of Jesus.  This time however, Mary has opened up her costly perfume of spikenard and poured it on the feet of the Master.

     This perfume was not only expensive but it had an extremely strong odor.  It is said that the fragrance of one drop of spikenard can actually dwell in a confined area for weeks.  Mary did not dab a single drop upon the Lord; she poured the entire box upon Him and anointed His feet with her hair. 

     At Calvary, beaten, bruised, and battered there was a strong and sweet aroma of spikenard.  In the most horrific and violent scene in history, one could smell the fragrance of grace.  Not only that, but because Mary had anointed His feet with her hair, she too had the scent of grace on her life.  Being a Jewish lady, she covered her head before leaving the house that day; in doing so she maintained that fragrance upon her life.  No matter where she went it was evident that she had been with Jesus.  Can others smell the beauty of God’s grace in your life?  Are you a “smelly” Christian?