It was not about the perfume...

Hello Hello :) 

I don't know about you but I can't believe that it is already June! However, I can't help but thank God for His constant and consistent faithfulness as seasons change... or sometimes remain the same! It won't make sense if you think of that in literal terms :) 

If you know me you know that I love me some, not some lots of perfume. I go through perfume and body splash like crazy. I also get asked if I bathe myself in perfume multiple times a month if not a week. I don't know what to tell you, I really really like smelling good and also I am terrified of BO! (Insert Wide -Eyed Emoji). Don't jump into conclusions...I do love water too...I do SHOWER :) 

Now, I have read about the lady who was referred to as "a woman of the city, who was a sinner" in Luke 7. The reason I know about her is because she brought an alabaster flask/bottle of ointment (with a beautiful smell, might be equated to a modern day oil based perfume) and used to on Jesus' feet after she washed them with her tears. I have mentioned that I love perfume and smelling amazing but my feet is the last place I would spray it on. That would mean I was wasting it! Might I add that it was an expensive flask of perfume! 

I believe the disciple, Judas, had the same thought! He asked why she wasted this precious flask when they could have sold it and fed the poor. Jesus quickly rebuked him and said things that confirmed His appreciation of her act of worship. 

Could it be that it was not about the perfume at all? Could it be that He was looking at the heart position she had before Him? Mind you, it must have taken a huge deal of humility to be a woman, in that day in age, and come into a house full of Pharisees, disciples, and Jesus Himself. An uninvited "sinful woman" at that. Could it be that her bringing the perfume was giving up the best thing she owned to be at His feet? Could it be that He would have been as equally pleased with her even if she came, washed His feet with just her tears, dried it with her hair, and left out the ointment? I believe He would have been  as equally pleased. I think this story parallels the one of the widow who gave the little bit of copper coins she had to her name. The text in Mark 12: 42 puts it like this: " But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents" 

What was Jesus' response to this widow's act of worship? "Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." Mark 12:43-44 

Do you now see that even with the woman in Luke 7 it was never about the perfume but about the position of her heart! It is so important for us to get this! Because if we don't, we can get caught up in legalistic traps still trying to gain His love by our works or worse by what we have. You could be in a place that you are counting the number of times you have served Him with your awesome talents or one who is not serving because you don't feel like you have anything to offer. Both are very dangerous places to be! Both imply that you either have your position in Him by what you can offer or that you are not qualified to be His because of your lack. 

I say all this because in my natural mind I struggle with the concept of unmerited favour, the free gift of salvation, and unconditional love that is not impacted or altered based on my conduct! Friends, today I invite you to accept the fact that it is not what you have done or what you haven't done that brought Jesus closer to you, but His unfailing love for Human Kind! :) I believe this is truth that I will continue to explore, learn about, and accept as long as I live. This is not something that can be fathomed or understood while we remain in our human forms. I also believe one day, in eternity, we will see Him face to face and start the journey of understanding this Miracle!

The reason for this post is to invite you to accept Christ as the one who is able to Love you unconditionally, who is able to transform you by the power of His Holy Spirit, and give you life and life in abundance to explore this Amazing Grace. If you already know the lord, I invite you... no I implore you to stop striving to earn His love and Favour! Simply believe, know, and live like you have a Savior who died for you! 

I pray you are encouraged today! I pray that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, your hope is revived and your strength renewed! One last thing, don't you dare let your earthy identity stop you from truly reaching out to Him, who is love personified, to Jesus Christ!

Stay Blessed<3