UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE
FEBRUARY, 7
Pastor Gabriel Prosper
Streams of Grace Global Ministries
‘And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace’(Luke 7:50).
Imagine the most immoral, lewd and vulgar woman in your community comes walking into your church service one Sunday morning scantily dressed. She gets into the church and walks straight to where the pastors and ministers are sitting, kneels by the senior pastor’s feet and starts crying.
She doesn't stop at that, she even loosens her hair and begins to wipe the pastor's feet with it, kisses and brings out her perfumed oil and begins to anoint his feet. I'm pretty sure some ushers will be grinding their teeth and molding their fists at that point getting ready to ‘discard’ her. This was the exact scenario in Luke 7:36-50.
Had this happened outside, it would have been understood. But this happened right in the house of a Pharisee–a very legalistic person. The only possible reason this woman could have gone to that house was because Jesus was there.
When the 'real' Jesus is truly revealed in our lives and churches, people will start coming. Jesus doesn’t condone sin, but He sure loves the sinner. The people in that room saw a sinner and a seductress (Luke 7:39), but Jesus saw a woman of faith. The faith that saves, heals, delivers, protects and preserves is the type that sees the forgiveness and love of Jesus as its qualification.
Jesus, seeing how greatly displeased the Pharisee was, told him a story in vs. 41 and 42: “…a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty… And when THEY HAD NOTHING to pay, he FRANKLY FORGAVE THEM BOTH…” This speaks of man’s inability in repaying God. It doesn't matter if you are as sinful as the woman in this story or as morally pure as the Pharisee who hosted Jesus; it doesn’t matter if you were born in a church and received a Bible on the day you were christened – we ALL owed a debt to God we couldn’t pay and God forgave us all in Christ Jesus.
No wonder Romans 3:23 says, “For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God; Being JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that is IN CHRIST JESUS.” The good news is not that ALL have sinned; but the good news is that ALL have been justified freely by His grace–His love, the unmerited and unmeritable favor.
The reason some seem to enjoy this salvation more than others is simply because others don't value the depth of God’s forgiveness to them. They are still looking at their moral uprightness as a means of receiving instead of seeing the loveliness of Jesus. This woman didn't go to Jesus that day trying to impress Him with her faith.
No! She went worshipping His beauty and loveliness and as she worshipped, Jesus saw her faith because the faith that saves is the faith that sees the grace of Jesus. As you see Jesus today, He sees your faith.
Say this with me: Lord Jesus, you are beautiful, you are awesome, and I worship you in all your glory. I want to thank you Lord for paying the ultimate price for me to be saved. Your death has become my life. All my hope, all my dreams and all my aspirations I surrender at your feet! Thank you Jesus, I love you because you first loved me!
