“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him…And
behold a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the
table…brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet…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…Now
when the Pharisee…saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ‘This…woman…who is
touching Him…is a sinner.’” Luke 7:36-38
This story written by Luke is lived out even in 2019 as it
relates to our relationship with Jesus.
This story highlights two people whose interaction with Jesus parallels each
other. One man invited Jesus for dinner
while the woman worked her way into the room most likely uninvited. Both the man and woman were in the presence
of Jesus, but one judged while the other worshipped. According to my commentary, the man asked
Jesus to come and eat with him out of curiosity, while the woman came to serve
Him out of humility.
I began thinking about the two parallels and how I have been
both people over the course of my adult life.
Before Feb of 2006, I was that host that invited Jesus to join me on my
terms. I would attend church, say my
prayers at night and volunteer to serve.
I determined when and where I included Jesus, but it was more obligatory
than relational. After Feb of 2006
something shifted, and I felt like the guest being invited to the table. The more I got to know Him the least I felt that
I deserved to be in fellowship with Him.
But I felt the love and invitation to join Him whenever He called. The more deeply we go with Jesus the more
humility we feel in His presence. Like
the woman she realized that she was a sinner in need of a Savior. I love this story because of the beautiful
reminders that it gives us. Our sins
will never take us outside of the grace that God provides. We will always be reconciled with God’s love,
once we repent of our sins. Once we have
Jesus in our lives as Host, we will always be invited in no matter what.
Wherever we are and whatever we have done we are the
recipients of God’s beautiful mercy and forgiveness. His forgiveness is a reason to fall at the
feet of Jesus and worship Him continuously.
We are always invited…
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