20/02/2026
âWe could have⊠We could have.
I donât regret the way Iâve wasted myself for Jesus. I donât regret wasting anything Iâve given when Iâve given it in love.
And yet, the âindignantâ comments from Jesusâ other followers do hurt.â
"Did I Waste My Life in Missions?" by Julie Jean Francis
What a waste. Or at least on the surface it could seem like it.
A woman comes to Jesus and dumps expensive perfume on His body. The smell, even though overpowering in the room for a short time, wouldnât last long. Jesus would walk out the door and get His feet dirty again. The value of the perfume was gone immediately. Would there even be any lasting effects of her expensive gift? What was the point of her sacrifice?
Our modern-day sacrifices for Jesus can also seem like a waste on the surface to others.
Maybe you wake up every morning at 5 a.m. to open your Bible, sip your coffee, and sit quietly before no one as you watch the sunrise. You write your prayers or say them. Sometimes you âfeelâ something, sometimes you hear something, sometimes you donât. Yet you sit there every morning for an hour doing nothing. Is that a waste?
Maybe you fast from food and seek Godâs intervention. Sometimes you receive an answer immediately. Sometimes, youâve been fasting and praying consistently for the same thing for months, and you havenât seen any noticeable differences. Is that a waste?
Maybe you continue to pray for the salvation of a people group, or a friend, family member, or neighbor. You pray and pray. You arenât sure if your prayers are heard by God or if the situation will ever change. Is that a waste?
Maybe you serve doing a job no one else wants to do and no one else appreciates. No one sees you do it and no one says thank you. Is that a waste?
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. âWhy this waste?â they asked. âThis perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.â Aware of this, Jesus said to them, âWhy are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. . . . Truly I tell you wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. (Matthew 26:8-13)
What have I given to Jesus that is seen as a complete waste?
My favorite way to describe spiritual practices that engage us in time with God is âwasting time with God.â Listening in prayer, reading Scripture, fasting, giving, serving, and praying for others can all be things we do to âwaste timeâ with God.
Just like I âwasteâ time with my best friend or my children. I donât have to be doing anything or accomplishing anything I can measure. I simply âamâ with the other person. God doesnât have to respond to everything I have on my mind. He doesnât have to answer all my prayers in my timing. I am not in control of Him. He looks on me with love, and I receive His love as I âwasteâ my time with Him.
But I donât just waste my time with God in the mornings during specific spiritual practices. Iâve wasted a lot of my life, too. At least it can look like that from the outside.
Iâve wasted over thirteen years of my life in Asia doing a hard, slow work. Weâve seen some fruit, but it isnât flashy or valuable in much of the worldâs eyes. God has produced what fruit weâve seen, and we canât even take any credit for it. He has received all the glory.
Like the critical disciples, I think often we are judged by what âcould have beenâ had we used our gifts for Jesus differently.
We could have been actually using our degrees. We could have been financially independent and more in control of our lives rather than relying on the mercy of God and the generosity of others. We could have spared our kids the confusion of always having their hearts in two places. We could have spared ourselves the complication of loving our home and loving a people who continue to see us as not ever truly fitting in. We could have.
But I donât regret the way Iâve wasted my life. I donât regret the way I waste my early mornings. I donât regret the way Iâve wasted whatever worldly gifts or opportunities for income Iâve had. I donât regret wasting my college degree only doing secular work for four years and then spending my life living on support month to month. I donât regret wasting my prayers on situations and people that havenât changed in ways I can see on the surface.
I donât regret the way Iâve wasted myself for Jesus. I donât regret wasting anything Iâve given when Iâve given it in love.
And yet, the âindignantâ comments from Jesusâ other followers do hurt. The way some think my gifts could have been better spent elsewhere or given to someone else more needy. Some may accuse me of wasting my gifts, being irresponsible, not doing the right thing with something so valuable.
Iâve adjusted my perspective because I believe with my whole heart that God led my family exactly where we were supposed to be doing exactly the work He wanted us to do, despite the lack of flashy fruit to show off for it. We tried to be faithful in everything God put before us.
Looking back, I can see that the biggest fruit God produced was the fruit He produced in me in my own purifying and transformation. All along, it wasnât what I did for God or gave for God; it was the love I offered to God that mattered most to Him.
This month we are entering the churchâs season of Lent. Many people make commitments to spend time with God in prayer, to sacrifice something for God, or to give something to God.
What can you âwasteâ for God over these next weeks as a gift of love to Him? What small thing can you do with great love? As Mother Teresa reminded us, âNot all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.â
Sometimes I need to be reminded that all that I have âwastedâ for God, God sees as a beautiful thing. He knows all my sacrifices, little and big. He knows all the challenges weâve been through. He knows all the times I chose faithfulness over comfort and trust over my worldly idols. He sees my small gifts given to Him out of love. And while others may be indignant, my Jesus calls my sacrifice beautiful.
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Julie Jean Francis is the author of Bowing Low: Rejecting the Idols Around Us to Worship the Living God and its companion Bible study, as well as books for Third Culture Kids and their families, including When We Called Myanmar Home and T is for Thailand. She has been serving in Southeast Asia with her husband (and their seven children) since 2012.
