Thursday, October 6, 2022

John 12:1-8

John 12:1-8 
  A lot of times, when we think about giving, we usually think about how little we can give.  We think of it as a sacrifice, and we're thinking about how we could use that money somewhere else, on something that might do a little more for us.
  Good thing Jesus didn't think like that!  
  He was willing to give everything, because he thought the reward (which is you!) was worth any price that had to be paid.  He didn't think about what he was giving up, because his love for you is so great that he was only focused on that.
  In the same way, here in this text, Mary is so focused on what she's receiving in having Jesus as her Lord, that she isn't worried about the cost of what she's giving up.  What she has received in Christ is so much greater than anything she can give, that she therefore gives willingly.
  So when we think about what we give to God, it's not a matter of willing ourselves to give more by trying to feel guilty that we're not giving enough.  Instead, it's a matter of focusing ourselves on the eternal relationship we're going to have as a free gift because the Creator of the universe loves us enough to grasp us out of the pit we were in.  The more we focus on that, the more we realize that any gift we can give is a small pittance compared to the reward we've been given, and so we give out of gratitude, not guilt.

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