All throughout the gospels we see intentionality in Christ. We see Him constantly pulling His disciples away and teaching them eternal things within their immediate circumstance. Jesus is still intentional in our lives. Regarding intentionality, I find it interesting to see Jesus dining with a Pharisee. The only other time I recall Him doing this is when He didn't wash His hands before eating and the Pharisee freaked out. In Luke 7, we see Jesus teach us that one who is forgiven much, loves much. I think Christ's intention in dining with this Pharisee was to meet this person whose sins were "many"and to teach a religious man an important lesson in grace.
When I think of someone walking up and standing behind a person I think either, A) a serial killer, (my husband read a lot of true crime) B) my mother trying to "fix" my hair, or C) someone who is fearful and perhaps shameful. Based on the text, the latter is likely for this woman. Before Jesus can turn around, she is on the floor weeping at his feet. I understand shame and the affects of it. As I have shared before, cigarettes come in and out of my life as a struggle. When things are tense, that's what I want. As a mother, the shame is overwhelming when I lose that struggle. I feel like a crappy Christian as well. I have shared with my Sunday school class about how this struggle interrupts my walk with Jesus on occasion. The Enemy gets a lot of milage out of this struggle in my life. The good that comes from it is that I am acutely aware of how weak I am and how great my need for Christ is. When there is victory over temptation, I know full well where my strength came from. I wish I struggled with eating too much chocolate though. I think there would be less shame. Maybe not.
Just as this sinner approached Jesus in a shameful state, the pain that is caused by sin is meant to lead us to the exact spot seen in Luke 7:36-48. It is meant to bring us to Christ. As the Pharisee sat and watched this unfold, I seriously doubt he expected a rebuke coming his way. Jesus rebuked the Pharisee however, the man who invited him to dine in his home, and gave grace to an uninvited sinner. Jesus answered this man's dinner request because He had one agenda. In John 6:35-36 & 38-39, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life...". He states our need for Him on earth (hunger and thirst), and our need for Him eternally.
Things have been rough lately for my family. I've had some physical struggles that included an ulcer, an insufficient gall bladder, and two bulging discs in my back. Praise God that the gall bladder has been removed and I am receiving treatment for the ulcer and my back. Our company, Just Like Dad's, has also been set aside leaving my husband out of work. He is still looking for a job. All these things cause stress. As a mother, I have strong opinions on how I want my son raised. I want to stay home with him to continually care for the seeds his Father and I have planted. My prayer lately has been that the Lord would lavish His grace on us for whatever comes our way and that I would praise Him regardless of our circumstance. I want to trust Him when things are rough and temptation knocks on my door. I want to trust Him always. I have felt like this sinner many times throughout my life. I look to her example on how I am to respond to temptation. We were created to know God. We were created to know our Creator yet sin cripples us in that pursuit. I pray that we all look to this woman and see her strength and courage to surrender her will and bow before the King.
I praise God for showing us through Christ how much He loves the unlovely. When you see a mother smoking in front of her child, say a prayer for her and her family. Say a prayer for me as well for I am not beyond that level of selfishness. Sin and temptation creep into our lives with the goal to rule it. May this never be. In all of Jesus' actions, we see the will of the Father. In this story, I see a God who loves the broken. I see a God who loves the weak. I see a God who loves to see His Son worshiped. I also see how the proud offend Him. The proud miss the beauty of a repentant sinner.
Would anyone like to share how Christ has freed them from a struggle? My faith would be greatly encouraged.
* I forgot to mention that I have been accepted into Union University to earn my Master's in Christian Studies!!! Please pray for me as I pursue scholarships and grants!! I'm also fairly certain that they don't have a smoking section so keep me in your prayers there as well. Can you imagine someone studying Systematic Theology while puffing on a cigarette? I can. Pray for me. Much love!!!
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