Monday, February 13, 2017
Since I thought of this biblical account for a good portion of the night and into the morning, I was pretty sure I was going to write about it today. The story is found in the 7th Chapter of Luke and it features Jesus as an invited guest at the house of a Pharisee by the name of Simon and also an assumed ex-woman of the street who came in and washed Jesus’ feet. She washed them with ointment mingled with her tears and dried them with her hair. The contrast in the story is that although both the Pharisee and the woman did good things for Jesus, only one of them, the woman, did it out of love. How do we know she did it because of love? Jesus clearly implied it with these words: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (vs. 47) And how did He know? Being God, He knows the heart. I trust you will read the story for yourself at your earliest opportunity.
Perhaps, I was thinking of this story because another Valentines Day is upon us. Tomorrow many will be giving the love of their life chocolates, roses, teddy bears, etc. Many will do it because of a genuine or sincere love for the person and I suppose that more than a few will do so because everyone else does it, or because it is the right thing to do, or will do it out respect, appreciation, or obligation. Because, as humans, we can’t possibly know the motives of the heart, the gesture will be greatly appreciated in most cases anyway. Too often, we are overly impressed by the zeal, dedication, or devotion that is displayed by many professing Christians, even by those who are in a false religion or sect. We must not overlook this fact: Not everyone who openly displays and practices his or her faith does it out of love. In false religions, most people serve out of fear. They are afraid of suffering the consequences if they don’t.
By all means, always make an effort to demonstrate your love to others, and especially to God. Like the woman in the story, I pray we will all serve the Lord because of what He has done for us. When it is a genuine love, there is no pressure. When we do things for the Lord, we do them because we want to, not because we have to. Again, like the woman in the story, the only reason we love Him in the first place is because He loved us first.
God’s word for today: (Psalm 5:11) “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
