Day 6: Love and sincerity
Then [Jesus] turned…and said to Simon, “I came into your house. You did not give me any water for My feet… You did not give me a kiss… You did not put oil on My head…" (Luke 7:44-46).
Lord God and heavenly Father, You alone are God—to You belongs eternal praise (Psalm 111:10). The psalmist calls us to the praise due You: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness (Psalm 29:2).
But throughout history, just as today, rebellious hearts do not acknowledge You as God. You pointed this out to the prophet Jeremiah: “You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge Me,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 9:6).
Even when the Word, in the person of the Lord Jesus, became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 14:1), He was despised and rejected...and we held Him in low esteem (Isaiah 53:3). He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:11).
Religious people continued in religion, meticulously following the demands and observances they had enshrined, while missing the Majesty before them. So as a guest at the home of Simon the Pharisee, the Lord Jesus did not receive the warmth and the welcome, the reverence and the respect, the hospitality and the honor that were His due (Luke 7:44-46).
For this religious ruler, dinner with Jesus was a mechanical process, another routine get-together in the stream of religious gatherings and discussions. Jesus contrasted Simon's lack of love and sincerity with the lavish honor and respect showered on Him by a woman in that town who lived a sinful life (Luke 7:37):
She came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind [Jesus] at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them (Luke 7: 37-38).
And while the Pharisee recoiled in religious repulsion, the Lord commended her great love (Luke 7:47). He credited her with faith—the faith that brings salvation and forgiveness.
Father, may we too, honor You with lavish love, and sincerity, and demonstrative faith. May our worship be pure, and passionate and purposeful.
Help us to open our doors—our whole selves—to You from a sincere desire to seek Your face, and to enjoy Your presence. Stir our hearts to worship—to become true worshipers in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
Guard our hearts from mindless routines, dutiful practices, and wooden activities. Teach us to honor and esteem You with the glory due Your name (Psalm 29:2). May we never get so lost in religious observances, mechanical rites, and dutiful practices that we miss Your presence and Your power.
Almighty God, You have declared that the time will come when every one will worship and acknowledge You, including those who refuse to bow before You now (Romans 14:11). Help us to willingly bow now. Deliver us from dullness, sloth, apathy, and indifference. Help us not to spiral into dead religion and hypocrisy for want of love and sincerity.
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