TEXT
Luke 7:36-50
KEY VERSE
“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
Luke 7:47, KJV
CONTEXT
Jesus was dining at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, when a woman known as a sinner entered and fell at His feet. Weeping, she washed His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with costly ointment.
Simon was offended that Jesus would allow such a woman to touch Him. Jesus responded with a story about two debtors. One owed much, the other little, but neither could repay. Both were forgiven. Jesus then asked which would love the creditor more.
Simon answered, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.”
He had understood the parable, but he had missed himself in it.
REFLECTION
Have you ever received something so often that you stopped being amazed by it?
That can happen with forgiveness.
We know Jesus died for our sins. We know God loves us. We know we are forgiven. But familiarity can make the greatest mercy seem so ordinary, as though we deserve it.
The woman in Luke 7 reveals something about loving the Lord more deeply.
She knew she was a sinner and had a debt she could never repay. And when she encountered Jesus, she did not come trying to preserve her dignity. She came with tears, with costly perfume, and with a love that seemed extravagant.
Perhaps that is where our love for God sometimes grows cold. We know we have sinned, but we have not stopped long enough to consider the weight of that sin. We know we are forgiven, but we have not stopped long enough to consider what our forgiveness cost.
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
God did not wait for us to become worthy of His love. He loved us first. He gave His Son. Jesus carried the sins we could never carry and paid the debt we could never repay. He paid with His blood.
The more clearly we see our debt, the more astonishing forgiveness becomes. And the more astonishing forgiveness becomes, the more precious Jesus becomes.
The woman at Jesus’ feet understood something Simon had forgotten:
She had been forgiven much.
May we never become so familiar with the cross that we forget why we should fall at His feet in love.
KEY TAKEAWAY
The more deeply we understand the mercy we have received, the more deeply we will love the One who gave it.
PRAYER
Lord, open my eyes to the weight of my sin and the greatness of Your mercy, so that I may love You as one who has been forgiven much.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE
Read Luke 7:36-50 again. As you read, don’t only think about what the woman did for Jesus. Stop and remember what Jesus has done for you.
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