Most of us are familiar with the story we find in Luke 7, Jesus being anointed by a sinful woman. She knelt at his feet, wiping her tears that fell on his feet off with her long hair. She kissed his feet and covered them with expensive perfume.
We usually focus on what happens next: The Pharisee calls her a sinner, Jesus shares the parable about the pieces of silver, and tells the woman her sins have been forgiven. I read an interesting perspective this week from Brennan Manning about what he imagines happened before she even brought out the alabaster jar.
“I imagine his eyes called out to her: Mary, come to me. Come now. Don’t wait until you get your act cleaned up and your head on straight. Don’t delay until you rescue your reputation, until you’re free of pride and lust, jealousy and self-hatred. Come to me now in your brokenness and sinfulness. Come now, with all your fears and insecurities. I will love you just the way you are, not the way you think you should be.”
I think that is what God desperately wants us to know today: I will love you just the way you are, not the way you think you should be. God loves us despite all of our junk. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect.
'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' Romans 3:23
Our Creator chooses to save us from our sins…again and again. When we stand in His Holy presence, we are changed. If we leave behind our sin, we can walk in true freedom. When Christ forgave the sinful woman, he washed all her sin away. Her messy past was gone, and she was made new to follow Him. He wants to do the same for us.
“When we embrace the one who loves and forgives us, we are made new. The old sin is washed away, and gone for good, like that sudsy water from your shower that disappears down the drain, never to be seen again. Some of us put in a drain stopper though, and insist on bathing in that same polluted water everyday, beating ourselves up for last week’s dirt still swirling around us rather than letting God wash us off for good. This isn’t about deserving forgiveness. It’s about accepting it.” From Really Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs.
‘Have mercy on me, Oh God, because of your unfailing love, Because of your great compassion; blot out the stain of my sins. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.' Psalm 51:1-2
We don’t have to sit in a dirty bathtub any longer. Our sins are washed away. The beauty of God’s grace is that we are remade. “You are more than the choices you have made, you are more than the sum of your past mistakes, you are more than the problems you create. You’ve been remade…It’s not about what’ve you done, but what’s been done for you.” Ten Avenue North
