"And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment." Luke 7:37
Before the One who had the power to free her from a life filled with guilt and shame, she wept. The law gave her no chance, as she stood before it guilty and condemned because of her conduct, but Jesus, before whom she came weeping, gave her a chance to restart her life devoid of guilt and shame. This is what grace does: it gives us the opportunity to restart our marred lives on the platter of God's love and forgiveness.
She, who was called a sinner by the world, now stands before divinity, not accused nor condemned, but accepted for her simple faith, rather than judge for what she had done. She may have gone to Jesus as her last attempt to make peace with God; she may have been told of Jesus and His grace, so she came to see if He was all that they had told her about His all forgiving grace. She found Him more than she was told.
She did not only come near Him, she even touched Him. One like her who was called a sinner by the world, found comfort and consolation in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Her experience with men had been one of being used by them to satisfy their amoral cravings, but in Christ, she met a Man that saw value in her beyond what He could get from her. She came to Jesus, deformed by sin, but left His presence restored and made whole by grace. She brought to Jesus everything that symbolized the dark past she was trying so hard to run from.
Her life was in that little alabaster box that she brought with her to meet Jesus. That could have been all she gained from her life of sin. When she broke the seal of the box and poured the perfume on Jesus, she simply was saying "I break with my past and I start a new life afresh with Jesus." For the first time in her life she met someone who did not assess her according to what she had done, but rather, accepted her person; also for the first time, her person counted apart from her deeds. This is what happens when Jesus meets a sinner, and this is what He expects to happen when we make contact with those struggling with sin: to make known to them a Jesus who forgives and makes all things new. How wonderful it will be that when sinners meet us, it will be their opportunity to encounter grace.
Toni
Before the One who had the power to free her from a life filled with guilt and shame, she wept. The law gave her no chance, as she stood before it guilty and condemned because of her conduct, but Jesus, before whom she came weeping, gave her a chance to restart her life devoid of guilt and shame. This is what grace does: it gives us the opportunity to restart our marred lives on the platter of God's love and forgiveness.
She, who was called a sinner by the world, now stands before divinity, not accused nor condemned, but accepted for her simple faith, rather than judge for what she had done. She may have gone to Jesus as her last attempt to make peace with God; she may have been told of Jesus and His grace, so she came to see if He was all that they had told her about His all forgiving grace. She found Him more than she was told.
She did not only come near Him, she even touched Him. One like her who was called a sinner by the world, found comfort and consolation in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Her experience with men had been one of being used by them to satisfy their amoral cravings, but in Christ, she met a Man that saw value in her beyond what He could get from her. She came to Jesus, deformed by sin, but left His presence restored and made whole by grace. She brought to Jesus everything that symbolized the dark past she was trying so hard to run from.
Her life was in that little alabaster box that she brought with her to meet Jesus. That could have been all she gained from her life of sin. When she broke the seal of the box and poured the perfume on Jesus, she simply was saying "I break with my past and I start a new life afresh with Jesus." For the first time in her life she met someone who did not assess her according to what she had done, but rather, accepted her person; also for the first time, her person counted apart from her deeds. This is what happens when Jesus meets a sinner, and this is what He expects to happen when we make contact with those struggling with sin: to make known to them a Jesus who forgives and makes all things new. How wonderful it will be that when sinners meet us, it will be their opportunity to encounter grace.
Toni
