2 Cra-Z 4 U...?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

After spending some time in personal study not too long ago, I remember talking to a friend and telling her that "faith leads you to do the boldest, most craziest things ever".

Think about that..: Faith leads you to do the boldest, most craziest things ever. It's crazy Jesus said that if we had "faith as small as a mustard seed" we could command something to happen and it will happen [Luke 17:6]. So I went ahead and GOOGLE'd "a mustard seed" and boy! these babies are tiny!

So, I said to myself, "...the people Jesus was talking to must not have had any faith at all!" I mean, if Jesus made reference to the smallest seed and suggested they have at least that much faith, these dudes were in bad shape! But that's not the point of this entry - thank God!

This is probably one of my new favorite Bible stories; talk about an act of faith!

"One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them." Luke 7:36-38.

Without having to go any deeper into these verses, this story is already an incredible one. I mean, here is this immoral woman interacting with the most moral person to grace this world. This just reinforces one thing: God is not interested in how I go to him as long as I go to him.

In other words, "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you [we] see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

So there she is, jar of expensive perfume in her hand. She sneaks into this guy's house with one goal in mind: locate Jesus. She was determined, and by her successive actions, it's obvious that there was no turning back.

But, why was it so necessary for her to locate Jesus?
Better yet, what in the world was she crying about?

Could it be she was crying because women are naturally overemotional...?

Just joking.
I cry in certain types of movies...

But really, why was she crying? What lead to her tears? Were they tears of joy? Pain? Embarrassment? Shock? Fear? Repentance? Acknowledgment? Recognition?... or something just in the spur of the moment; you know, the 'just because' tears?

IMMORAL: violating moral principles; not conforming to the patterns of conduct usually accepted or established as consistent with principles of personal and social ethics.

Referring to condition, applies to one hopelessly, and usually passively, sunk in wickedness and unrestrained appetites.

Referring to character, applies to one who voluntarily seeks evil and viciousness.

That's what Dictionary.com says.

That's the type of chick my Jesus allowed to intimately interact with him.

"When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!' " Luke 7:39

I'm pretty sure this Pharisee already knew that "we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. Therefore, we are all sinners - duh! So why be captain obvious? Maybe because he knew her in ways some of the people in his house did not. . ?

I'm not even gonna go there.

I can imagine that just to not be contaminated by this woman's immorality, the nearby guests avoided staying close to her and most likely relocated; leaving in the spotlight the woman and Jesus. And she didn't care. Neither did He. And she was happy. So was He. And she worshiped with tears. And He liked those tears.

So she takes her jar of expensive perfume and lavishes it on Jesus' feet. With tears and perfume she offered one of the most, if not the most, beautiful acts of worship - I think - recorded in the Bible. We know this immoral woman: Marry Magdalene; and we know her history.

Who gave this prostitute the right to be among scholarly men? These were not just regular guests at the home of the Pharisee; we're talking about dudes with high stature and even higher titles. Scholarly dudes, men who walk around with their noses up in the air - just to breathe better, I'm sure. These were guys people had to make way for when they were coming around. The type of dudes you wanted to know just so you could say "yeah, I know that guy". High class and even higher maintenance type guys, you know?

So who the heck gave this prostitute, this immoral woman, this piece of societal trash, this piece of trash, this nobody, this waste of a woman the rights to hang with this crowd? Who the heck invited her in, anyway?!

I would not be surprised if one of the men present actually said these words out loud. I'm almost positive several thought it. But that still did not stop this immoral woman: she was grateful, grateful that her Jesus already forgave her sins.

While everyone was tripping about what they were witnessing, Jesus broke it down to them - because, I believe, he knew the heart of the woman and what she was truly after.
"I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love." Luke 7:47.

Check out Jesus' words: "her sins...have been forgiven". This implies that her actions are a product of having already received that which she was looking for, right?

But when did Jesus tell her that her sins were forgiven?

He hasn't said it yet! So why is Jesus use these words?

Because "Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

The woman, by faith, knew that her sins would be forgiven. I'll take it a few steps further: she knew they were already forgiven. By that same faith, she already felt the power of Jesus' acceptance and forgiveness. Her faith was so strong that she was moved to do the things she did.

Who cares if she was immoral? Who cares if she was a prostitute? Who cares if she wasn't invited?

She certainly didn't!

If I ever get the chance to meet her I'd ask her why she did it, and I can imagine her saying, "There was no way that someone as lowly as me could have ever found someone who truly loved me, until I found Jesus!"

Now check this:

"Then Jesus said to the woman, 'Your sins are forgiven.' " Luke 7:48

Incredible!

To put the cherry on the cake:

"And Jesus said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.' " Luke 7:50.


Can you imagine what Jesus would have told her if everything she did was just an act...?



Faith leads you to do the boldest, most craziest things ever!

Enjoy this song by Philips, Craig & Dean - "Amazing Love (You Are My King)"