Performance is something we can easily fall into. (Ep2.9 calls it works, Heb9.14 calls it dead works). We can even think God is regulated by our performance! "If I'm performing He loves me.. if I'm not doing well, I'm not sure..."
But we are made for relationship, not performance. For faith. For receiving. For depending. The undeserved... Despite our performance! The thief on the cross experienced this. What glorious last moments! Praise the Lord, God never gave him a message of performance! But He gave him grace.
When Mary poured the ointment of spikenard, it was not in the realm of performance. How much spikenard am I required to give, what is expected, what will I get in return, how could it best be "utilized", how many poor people could this help? Rather, she was into love. Hers was not performance. It was a labor of love. Big difference. And the fragrance filled the room. The stench of performance (dead works) is always different from the fragrance of a labor love (divine-good works).
This seed thought was shared during a message called "Performance vs Faith" under an open hut, in a village called Maposa in the Zambian Copperbelt March 8th, 2012.
