Worship Brings Lasting Transformation

“She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Mark 14:8–9

When it comes to the value that we place on Jesus, let me share something powerful with you that will cause you to grow in your relationship with the Lord and bring lasting transformation in your life.

In the Old Testament, the burnt offering came in three sizes—literally, big, medium, and small (Lev. 1:1–17). The rich would bring an expensive bullock; the middle-income, a lamb; and the poor, a pair of easy-to-obtain pigeons or turtledoves.

Now, while the offerings differed in size, in terms of value to God, they were all equal and acceptable to Him, because they all reminded Him of the one final and perfect sacrifice of His beloved Son. So whether it was a bullock, lamb, or pair of turtledoves, they were all accepted and killed, and their blood was shed to make atonement for the offerers’ sins.

What’s the significance of knowing all this? The three animal sacrifices are actually typologies of our appreciation of Jesus and His finished work today. For instance, many believers have a lamb-sized revelation of Jesus. They know that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has washed away their past sins with His blood.

Then there are some Christians who have only a pigeon-size revelation of Jesus. They see Him as the Son of God Who came down from heaven to die for man’s sins.

And finally there are believers who have a bullock-size revelation of Jesus and His cleansing blood. As the bullock was the most expensive of the three sacrifices, these believers are spiritually rich because they have a large and deep revelation of Jesus, His blood, and how it has cleansed them of all their sins.

In the same way that all the three sacrifices were acceptable to the Lord, we as believers are all accepted in His sight, no matter what our revelation and how we value Jesus. But God wants you to grow from having a pigeon-size revelation of His Son to having a bullock-size appreciation of Him.

Why is this so important? Because everything starts from the inside out. That inward spiritual wealth will translate into outward benefits of peace, stability, joy, provision, and victory. Back then, the wealthier you were, the bigger the size of your offering. Today, the larger your revelation of Jesus, the more spiritually wealthy you are!

My friend, when you esteem Jesus, when you worship Him and give unto Him, it brings lasting transformation not only in your life. As we have seen with Mary in today's scripture, it also has an effect for generations and generations to come.

Mary poured out and gave her very best to the Lord, and Jesus said she prepared Him for His burial. In His words, Jesus enveloped her forever in the sweet incense of His praise of her.

Today we are still talking about and honoring what Mary did for our Lord two thousand years ago. Talk about your good works having an effect for generations to come!

Your time spent in studying the person of Jesus and worshipping Him will come back to you. You will experience a quality of life beyond your wildest imagination when the Lord Jesus is at the center of it all. And that is why the grace revolution is all about having a heart for Jesus!

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.