March 12, 2010, Luke 7

Key Verse:

"Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon the Pharisee, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with water from her tears and wiped them with her hair'."

(Luke 7:44)

Central Truth:

We can be forgiven.


BIG FAT HAIRY ONES

I lived most of my elementary years in the thrill-a-minute town of Byron. "Lost Vegas" we called it, as my friends and I "matured" into teenagers. It actually was a wonderful town to live in during those years. One of my fondest memories is walking with my friends across the school ball field to Mr. Vinson's drug store after school most days. Like many drug stores of that time, it had a soda shop in one end of the building. We would always sit at the table in the corner, enjoy a snack, and talk about anything....and anyone.

I have no recollection of how this topic came up, but we one day began to categorize sins into three levels: "bad, badder, and baddest." As we named off various sins, we began calling the worst sins "big fat hairy ones." Something like cheating on a test fell into that category. The conversation became hilarious. We hated when it had to end, and we, one-by-one, headed home.

As we mature and unfortunately lose the innocence of our youth, light-hearted conversation of sin can turn into actually committing sins that damage our lives forever. Inevitably, others are also harmed by our actions. The prostitute in Luke 7 had clearly lived a life that left her overcome with regret and grief. This, along with a powerful admiration of Jesus, prompted her to attend the meal at Simon the Pharisee's home. This was no public meal. It was a private party, and she was not on the guest list. While it was not uncommon for uninvited guests to attend such functions, Simon was clearly offended that a prostitute was present. However, to sooth her soul and express her grief over the choices she had made, she absolutely had to spend time with Jesus.

Many of us are burdened and emotionally torn with regret of past sins - infidelity, cruelty, abandonment, business fraud, or whatever the action might have been. By opening our regretful hearts to God, though, we can be forgiven. Jesus forgave the prostitute. He knew she was genuinely remorseful and needed to be freed of the yoke of sin that she was carrying. The same will be done for us if we truly desire forgiveness. God knows every crevice of our heart and soul. Allowing Him to mend our lives will remove the weight of regret that He does not want us to carry. He is ready when we are.