Luke 7:36-50
36Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
All of us are this woman. This person. This sinner. In need of grace, mercy and forgiveness. In need of belonging and shelter. It is amazing how Jesus welcomed and gave value to her in this encounter! It is equally, on the opposite end of the spectrum, appalling how the religious leaders regarded her and expected Jesus to regard her the same. But He didn’t. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Because he was not like them. He was holy. He was set apart. He was God, in the flesh. He was Love, incarnate. This act of “worship”, some say, is the model for worship for the Christian. I agree, to the extent that this model exemplifies gratitude, humility, need, reverence, recognition and awe. The “act” was preceded by a posture of heart. And that posture of heart is what The Worship Life is all about.
At the same time, there are many other examples of acts of “worship” in the Scriptures and lives of Jesus followers, with no heart; no reverence or awe for who God is. God, himself, rebuked these acts of worship:
Luke 18:9-14 (NKJV)
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Our worship is so much more than “acts” that we cross off our list of pieties or a song we sing. The Worship Life is a declaration of love, splendor, gratitude and awe in the sight of a magnificent God who is full of mercy, love and holiness. Our Lord ,who is worthy of so much more than lip service but deserves our very lives.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” Isaac Watts & Lowell Mason
CRISIE HUTCHINGS 
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