Ever seen a kid pick a dandelion for their mom? When our son was little, he would get them by the bouquet for my wife . . . a sign that while I knew how to cut grass (see yesterday’s devotional), I did not know how to prevent weeds!

Kids don’t realize they’re weeds. They see them as flowers and think girls like flower, my mom is a girl, I love her & want to give her something she likes!

My wife never, nor has any good mom in the history of the world, shunned this gift. Rather she would put them in a little cup of water and showcase them on the windowsill.

It’s not the value of the gift. It’s the heart from which it is given.

In Luke 7:47 Jesus hits this point home when He says, “her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much”[1]. This is part of Jesus’s response to his host for the evening, Simon, who was criticizing the woman’s actions.

Whether we admit it or not, we’re much like Simon. We ascribe to the notion that the woman needs to have it all together before we encounter God.

Perhaps we don’t say that about this story when we read it in a Bible study. But we say it about ourselves from time to time, don’t we?

When we sin, we start thinking about how we need to get it together before we talk to God about it. At least I know I do.

Most people hold to one of the two following thoughts:

• You do certain acts & avoid sin the best you can, IN ORDER TO have an encounter with God.
• You do certain acts & avoid sin AS A RESULT of an encounter with God.

See the difference?

Simon believed the first.

He was wrong.

The woman believed the second.

Jesus forgave the woman.

So . . .

May you recognize how far you fall short on your own strength. May you see how God’s standard for a sinless life as not anything you can obtain on your own. May you recognize just how profoundly you miss the mark.

May this realization compel you to action. May you demand more of yourself because you realize just how gracious and merciful God is.

And may you understand that it is not the value or size of the action but rather the faith in Him which motivates you . . . and THAT is what God showcases on the windowsill.

Thoughts to Pray/Journal:

• What can we learn from this woman in Luke 7?
• How can you be more like her today?

Reading:

Luke 7