When God Says …
“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, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” (Luke 7:37-38 KJV).
The setting is in the house of Simon, a Pharisee (Luke 7:36). A woman with deep sense of gratitude from the city came. This woman was the paradox of the host Pharisee. He was a man. She was a woman. He was legalistic and pompously religious. She was immoral. He was a pious pretender. She was loose. He was self-righteous. She was a sinner. He was stiff. She was buoyant. He was orthodox. She was extravagant and bold in showing her gratitude and love for the Lord. The key message, however, is that the Lord Jesus Christ was open to both types of people and longed to show love and share God's grace to both.
As this story unfolds, however, the woman was clearly the one blessed much for her authenticity. She came humbly in the presence of grace with gratefulness. Which we should reflect, how do we respond to the presence of the Lord Jesus in our midst? His presence is with us when we gather together in His name (Matthew 18:20) and even in us individually (Romans 8:9-10; Galatians 2:20) as we surrender to His grace by faith, sinful as we are like this city woman. One may wonder: how about you and I? How do we respond to the presence of grace in the Person of Christ Jesus with us? Equally revealing, how do we respond to the presence of someone like the immoral woman among us knowing that the Lord told us that our treatment of others is also our treatment of him? And, we’re not perfect either.
Do we have the attitude of the arrogant self-righteous host Simon the Pharisee? With the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit, it is therefore fitting for us to reflect on these Words of the Lord, as it is written: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:34-40 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment