Little Or Much?

“But Jesus said to the woman, your faith has saved you; go (enter) into peace [in freedom from all the distress that are experienced as the result of sin]” Luke 7:50 [AMP]

Luke 7 records an amazing story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped it with her hair, and anointed it with very expensive oil from her alabaster box. Everyone around Jesus at the time was indignant; they were wondering why she would be wasting that much resource on Jesus when people are hungry? Have you heard this debate recently? And Jesus said, ‘the poor you have with you always’. However, our focus is on what Jesus said in response to Simon, the Pharisee who had invited him, and is instructive for us. Jesus said to Simon, “…When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have ben forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” Luke 7:44-47. And all you can do is criticize her? Jesus is saying it is personal. Simon, it is because you think your sins were little; she knows she has lived riotously and she is grateful for the grace she has received. Many of us don’t realize that we have been forgiven much, so we do not respond as we ought to. Guess what? Everyone, even Simon, has been forgiven much. Or do you think you did Jesus a favour by inviting Him into your life? So why is it so difficult for you to lose yourself in God, even in your closet worship? One of our worship leaders at God’s Favourite House once said, ‘Praise is personal; nobody can praise God for you’. You can hire many types of people but you cannot hire people to praise God on your account. God wants to hear your praise. You cannot be posing before God and criticizing people who are giving themselves to praising God. The truth is that it is not your fault. You were not there when Jesus healed him of what defied medical science. You were not there when Jesus took her from poverty to abundance. But interestingly, some of you have seen Jesus come through for you but you still feel too prestigious to dance before God. Think about it; didn’t He take care of you? So what informs your pride? Salvation is personal; our response to Christ is heavily personal. With praise, the only person that matters is God.

Prayer: Father, I decree that my life will consistently overflow with thoughtful praise from a grateful heart to none other but You – My Saviour, in Jesus Name.