She Loved Much!

“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’ And Jesus answering said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ And he answered, ‘Say it, Teacher.’

“’A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.’ And he said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this, who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” (Luke 7:36-50 ESV)

There are a lot of “religious” people in this world who go through the motions of religious practice but they don’t really love the Lord with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. They give lip service to God, but they are not sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. They are not following the Lord in obedience to his commands and to his will and purpose for their lives. They are good at following forms of religious practice and rituals and traditions, but their spirits are not in tune with his Spirit.

Some of these “religious” people, thus, can totally miss it when the Holy Spirit is moving in someone’s heart and life and when the Lord is moving someone in a particular direction that is of God, and not of the flesh of man. Their religion is in forms only and in traditions, and anything outside that is just foreign to them, and they may not understand it at all. And so they may end up judging someone falsely and mistreating someone who is genuine in faith and in desire to serve the Lord Jesus.

For we can’t put God in religious boxes and expect him to perform according to the thinking of humans. He will never act outside his divine character and will for humankind, and he will never do anything that is sinful or against his word, but he shows himself in many different ways, and he uses people in many different ways that don’t all fit in with those religious boxes. And that is why he has gifted us all differently and why he assigns all of us different roles (parts) within the body of Christ.

Now the Scriptures teach that we cannot even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he first persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow him in obedience. For faith is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man, but of God, and gifted to us by God, and persuaded of God. So faith is going to align with God’s will and purpose for our lives and be of the Spirit, not of the flesh.

So, for this woman to feel compelled to do what she did for Jesus she had to be moved of God in that direction. God the Father was drawing her to faith in Jesus Christ, and I believe it was God who put within her that desire to do what she did for Jesus. And it took real courage for her to do that, for she had to know that she might be ridiculed and rejected. And I believe her act of love toward Jesus and her tears were indicative of someone who had a tender heart toward the Lord and who was sorrowful for her sins, too.

But the “religious” Pharisee couldn’t see this for what it was at all. All he could see was a woman who was a sinner, and he did not see beyond that. He was unwilling and unable to see the heart of this woman toward Jesus. And there are many “religious” people like that, who are so locked into their religious traditions that anything “outside the box” is just foreign to them, and so they may end up misjudging what they don’t understand because their own hearts are not that tender toward the Lord.

So, I just love what Jesus said to the Pharisee in the woman’s defense. The Lord let him know that what he should have done for the Lord, but did not do, the woman that the Pharisee despised did do for the Lord. The Lord honored her and her service to the Lord, for what she did for the Lord honored him and showed love for him. So Jesus forgave her sins and he told her that her faith, which came from God, saved her, and so she was to go in peace. For she was blessed for what she did for Jesus.

So, what can we learn from this story? I believe that we all need to guard our minds and hearts and attitudes against being so caught up in “religious” traditions and forms of religious practice that we totally miss when the Spirit is moving in people’s hearts and lives and when the Lord is using people to do his will even if it is in non-traditional ways that don’t fit with “religious” traditions and practices. And so that we don’t end up misjudging the Lord’s true servants and messengers and end up discarding them because they don’t fit in our “religious boxes.” For our ways are not God’s ways.

Now, again, what we do for the Lord should not be outside his divine character and will and purpose for our lives. It should not be anti-biblical and opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures on moral conduct and holy living. But we have to be so careful to not put God in a box regarding how he might use any of us. If we read the Bible from beginning to end, we will see that God used people in all different ways at different times and for varied purposes that fit the present circumstances at the time.

So, if someone is a little different from you, pray and ask the Lord to let you see him or her through the eyes of the Lord. Don’t be so quick to cast judgment without knowledge and without true biblical discernment. Be very careful that you don’t end up comparing others to yourself and think everyone should be like you or that they all have to fall neatly inside your boxes. They just need to fit in with God’s divine will and purpose for our lives and not be doing what is evil in the sight of God but what is good.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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