He was king with numerous opportunities to rule well during his eight year reign.
But he had not.
He had achieved nothing for his country or people that qualified as a distinguishable accomplishment of merit.
Nothing.
The people he had ruled were glad when he departed.
“He passed away to no one’s regret,” read one official account.
Said another: “No one was sorry when he died.”
Still another: “He departed without being desired.”
He had been in a position of leadership, but he had left no legacy.
What a dismally sad way to be but briefly remembered for an ill-lived life; to be nothing more than a footnote in history.
Like a spreading stain on the royal carpet, the king’s rule had puddled into a mass of vindictiveness.
Not so the woman, whose brief moment in time – in pouring out from her own bottle of perfume – left a fragrance that filled the room, a legacy of a timeless story to be told thereafter throughout history (Matthew 26).
To be cognizant always that our lives too are being poured out, dissipating and dissolving, and that therefore this moment, this conversation with this person matters; to be ever mindful that the opportunities accorded us to make a positive difference are many, but passing quickly; and that therefore we set about the task of making it matter that we passed this way:
Is to live well.
