44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:44-47)
Have you ever crashed a party? Think about this sinful, uninvited woman who came unannounced to a dinner party that the Pharisees were giving to Jesus. She heard that Jesus was going to be there, and in this room full of people, regardless of the sneers and objections she knew she would receive, the woman brought some perfume in an alabaster jar. She stood at Jesus' feet, crying. Then she began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried Jesus' feet with her hair. She kissed his feet many times and rubbed them with perfume. She is too ashamed to even look Him in the eye, but in humility she cowers on the ground, weeping and saying nothing, but honoring Him the only way she could.
What loving and inspirational trust and hope this woman displayed! This woman’s act demonstrated her true faith, and Jesus honored her faith. She is a testimony to us all that if Jesus could welcome her, then any one of us, despite our sins, are welcome into His kingdom of love and grace! Jesus came into the world to offer grace and mercy to all persons, no matter what path they have chosen in life.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9)
We can never let our pride stop us from boldly “crashing” in on someone’s party, weeping and taking the liberty to fall on our knees at our Master’s feet. We need to bring our best oil and honor Him in the presence of all. Jesus accepts that which is precious and meaningful to us and returns it to back to us with so much more! What a great return on investment!
“Our choice to bring glory to God yields a great return on Christ's investment.”
Hi Denise - wow, great post. Our best, no matter what that is, Jesus accepts with grace and mercy. His best, is a gift to us. I hope you have an awesome week ahead and be blessed
ReplyDeleteTracy
Hi Denise, couldn't find your email but just letting you know that the 'Proverb snaps' blog hop is now open for this week ... and thanks for linking up with our wonderful little community of inspiring blogs. (Blog hop link for this week - http://heartsoulexchange.blogspot.com/2011/10/flower-of-adversity.html)
ReplyDeleteDenise, I was just thinking of this chapter the other day and was admiring how the Proverbs 31 woman was able to tend to her home and family and also find ways to contribute to the home financially... without allowing herself to be spread too thin. I wondered what that would look like in my life. I have been searching for a while for a creative way to earn income ... not sure what that is exactly, but I trust that God will shine a light on the way for me to go. Thanks for this beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteI love many of the writings in Proverbs.
ReplyDelete