Result!

Result!

Luke 7:47 AMPC

[47] Therefore I tell you, her sins, many [as they are], are forgiven her–because she has loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.

In today's verse, we see the practical and actual application of the lessons from the devotion of yesterday. We saw Peter preach a sermon, calling men to repentance and return to God, who could forgive sin and grant all who come eternal life with Him. As we saw yesterday, the invitation extends to all men, no matter the depth of the stain or the reach of the mess. There is no sin excluded from this initial invitation, and His blood is sufficient to cleanse from all sin. As we saw yesterday, the invitation requires me to confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and to believe in my heart that He can save me from my past sin. That is all that He requires, and we see a good example of His acceptance and healing of someone who dared to reach out and take Him up at His Word. He is still the same God  waiting for as many as would come. Time has not changed the story. If you need Him, what are you waiting for? 

We find a woman who was known to be a sinner in the town, who came to Jesus while He ate at the home of a  Pharisee. The whole town knew who she was, but she knew that she would find acceptance in Jesus. The world was free to condemn her, but she would not give up until she had received the final word from the One who could forgive sin. She came to Jesus with a box of alabaster box of perfume, which was very expensive. This woman poured the entire content of the box on the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. Think of the sacrifices she made to do all these: spend a lot of money to buy an expensive box of perfume, and in one sitting, pour out the entire content on the feet of a man you just had a conviction could help you, and then take the glory of your hair and wipe a man's feet with it. This was about the pain of the past and the burden of the present meeting up with the assurance of a better tomorrow. She was not disappointed. 

Of course, the crowd always has an opinion, but thank God the final decision does not stop with man. The host had his view, thinking one sin made someone worse than the other. With the One this woman came to meet, all sin had the same ending and had been effectively taken care of by His death and resurrection. The hold of sin is broken and ALL who come to Jesus enjoy that freedom. Let men have their views; let them think that your sacrifices are worthless or the pursuit is pointless; as long as you come to the One with eternal life to offer free of charge, do not let the views of men stop you from enjoying the amazing restoration made available in Christ. By her sacrifice, her sins, as many as they were, were all forgiven, and there was a recognition by Jesus of her heart of surrender. This is quite fundamental: my love for God will be driven by my understanding of what I have been given. If I know what I have been saved from and called into, loving God will not be forced. Do you know Him? God's time of favour is here.