HAND ME DOWN
What it means to be CHOSEN
June 28th, 2023
Colossians 3:12-14, ‘So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.’ (MSG)
PUR-FUME
When I arrive in heaven, I imagine becoming friends with the woman who anointed Jesus with her entire alabaster jar of pure nard, an expensive parfum. I imagine I can relate to her. I imagine we are a lot alike. Jesus has set me free from so much. There is simply no way to show Him enough gratitude for all He has done for me.
I understand what it is like to be seized by so much worldliness, to have sold my soul for very little. I know what it felt like when my heart was arrested by Jesus, when He wiped it clean with His love and white-washed it with His grace. I’m still astonished every day by what He continues to do inside of me, and the favor He lavishes over me; the way He answers the prayers I don’t even have the faith to utter, the ways that He leads and the needs that He meets.
I am astounded by His goodness. It is so rare to be treated with such kindness, a lovingkindness that is transformative because it offers redemption and liberty. What Jesus has done for me is beyond words and I am undone to express my gratitude. And what’s more—His attentiveness to the things I have wrestled against has caused me to feel so special, as if I am the only one He sees and yields His affection for. How would He have time and energy to care for someone else the way He has cared about me?!
Then I read about someone else who was a mess like me, possessed by vanity and fascinated with herself. Jesus had set her free from so much bondage, had cleansed her from all the blemishes and stains. Scripture expresses that this woman is so overwhelmed with His goodness to her, that she is undone when she comes into His presence and cannot keep from lavishing Jesus with worship and covering Him in tangible ways. ‘Broken and weeping, she covered His feet with the tears that fell from her face. She kept crying and drying His feet with her long hair. Over and over, she kissed Jesus’ feet. Then as an act of worship, she opened her flask and anointed His feet with her costly perfume.’ (Luke 7:38, TPT)
I can imagine falling at His feet, my tears washing them in a rudimentary form of worship, pouring over Jesus all my shards and fragments of gratitude and praise. I want to thank this woman for showing me what touched Jesus and caused Him to understand the depth of her indebtedness. I really hope I get a chance also to hand down my very best, my most humble thanksgiving I can muster, to express my devotion to the One Who has set me free.you are His REMNANT
