(John 12: 3-8, NLT) 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Perspective is such an important part of our spiritual growth. The goal is that we can and will eventually see things through the lens of our faith in Christ and our devotion to that faith, yet our vision tends to get easily skewed. It is very easy to get caught up in the habits and motions of the things that we do for the cause of Christ. We have these ideas in our minds about all of the things that we should be doing — all of which are good and righteous deeds…worthy causes indeed — but if we are not careful, something momentous gets lost among the bustle of our church business. When we are constantly in motion, we begin to miss out on moments of intimacy — opportunities to just sit in the presence of Christ and just love on Him…to bless Him with the sacrifice of our time…giving Him the best part of ourselves first.
Christianity is most definitely intended to be a life of service to others. We should give of our time and resources to help support those who are needy and lost. We should be creative in our programming and events…making sure that we put forth our very best…in an effort to reach people who might otherwise be unreachable. We should work hard in all ways to better and further the Kingdom of God. It is, after all, our Great Commission. However…what good is any of that if we lose sight of the most important part of who we are in Christ…love…our first love…the greatest commandment of all? It is only then, when we have taken the time from our busy work, that we are able to reset and rest in that place of freedom and peace that is only found at His feet. Before we ever attempt to love others, we must make sure that we have first given Jesus the time and consideration that he so deserves. We simply cannot not love others adequately if we are constantly missing out on these invaluable opportunities with our Lord.
(Matthew 22: 37-39, NLT) 37 Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
It truly is all about perspective. We desperately need to see this world through the eyes of Christ, and in order to do so, we desperately need to spend time with Him…to better know His word, His heart, and His will. It is very similar to a marriage, actually! When you get too busy and start to simply co-exist parallel with your spouse, things start to fall apart. You may say you love your husband or wife, you may do all of the things you’re supposed to do for him or her, but if you never take the time to sit and share your heart with that person, it all just seems pretty pointless.
Perspective. Don’t let your work for Jesus overshadow your love for Him. Give Him the best part of your day, and the biggest part of your heart. He will, in turn, fill you with all of the time, resources, and anointing that you need…to the point of overflowing…in order to do His work. All things for, through, and by Christ…He’s the only way.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I get distracted so easily by my busy schedule. My heart is always in a good place, but not necessarily always in the best or right place, because when I am neglecting my time with You, I become misguided and I begin to see things through my own perspective rather than through Your eyes. Help me to stay focused on You. You deserve my best, and that is only accomplished when I love You first…before anyone or anything else. Amen.
Thinking Out Loud 