A Sinful Woman Forgiven

 Referenced Scriptures: Luke 7:36-50

So it's been a while, but God has had me in a few different areas. Today, I was led to Luke 7:36-50. Where Jesus is eating with a Pharisee and a "sinful woman" comes in and begins showing her love and appreciation for Jesus by washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. The story goes that this Pharisee (religious person) invited Jesus over to have a meal with him and this woman shows up and just begins showing her love for Jesus. The Pharisee then thinks to himself in verse 30, “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.” Jesus then proceeds to tell a story of two men one of these men owed let's say, $500 the other owed $50. Neither of these men could repay this debt so the moneylender cancelled both of their debts. At the end of this parable Jesus asks the Pharisee, "Now which of them will love him more?”

I have read this account of Jesus' life many times but today it really struck a nerve. How often have I been this Pharisee? Very often is the answer I get back when I answer that question honestly. The church and Christians in general tend to get "religious" as we mature in our faith. This is good and bad; let me explain. This is good because as a follower of Christ we should be moving forward in our knowledge and understanding of God's kingdom; however, we should not be looking down or turning our noses at anyone that may not be where we are. I have caught myself being hard on people when I have absolutely no right to do this. Saying things internally like, "Why can't they just get past this and move on?" I expect that their walk with Christ should mirror mine and is just not how things work. We tend to write off people just because they are not where "we think" they need to be. Quite honestly this "holier than thou" religiosity is what the world sees in the church when what they should be seeing is Christ.

Let's stop judging others and begin to pray for those we see that may be coming up behind us. Their walk with Christ is just that "their walk" and it more than likely was custom-built just for them. So they will go through things that we didn't have to, some things will come harder and easier to them, but our walks will not be identical. So just pray; pray for them and don't gossip or have a bad attitude toward them and God will take care of the rest. It's not our job to change people; we can't, that responsibility belongs to the only one that can...Jesus Christ. 

Take Care & God Bless,

-E