March 9, 2012 | Leave a comment Today, Friday March 9, 2012, is the fourteenth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus. Jesus’ kind of love is truly beyond the average human’s comprehension. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 (ESV) Have you ever wondered why some people seem to love Jesus more than others? Jesus answers this question when He tells the Pharisee Simon the following story. 41 ‘‘Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, ‘‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” ‘‘You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘‘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 her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, ‘‘Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘‘Who is this who even forgives sins?”50 Jesus said to the woman, ‘‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:41-50 In this passage of Scripture we encounter two very different people. One, a Pharisee believes that he is right with God because of his understanding of a perceived ability to keep the letter of the Old Testament law. Secondly, we meet a sinful woman who has placed her faith in Jesus, resulting in her loving Him supremely. On one hand, the Pharisees’ religion has led him to be judgmental, self-righteousness, and to doubt the claims of Jesus (Luke 7:39). On the other hand, this sinful woman’s love for Jesus has led her to faith, repentance, and peace. With which of the two characters in this story do you have the most in common? In today’s church their are many who approach their Christian faith in the same means as this Pharisee. As a result they twist the Gospel out of its context and labor under obligations of law and legalism which lead them to be superficial in their practice of Christianity resulting in no joy, no peace, and love that is not like Jesus’. These people perceive that their need for Jesus and his forgiveness is small, particularly when compared to sinful people like this woman. If today you find that your practice of Christianity has led you to become judgmental, self-righteous, and to wonder whether or not all of Jesus’ claims are actually true, then you need to “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus. The fact is that regardless of how much or how little you think you have sinned everyone of us stands before Jesus with the same need as this woman. Each of us do not possess the ability to save ourselves or to forgive ourselves of our own sin. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah expresses the predicament in which each of us find ourselves regarding our own sin this way: 5 . . . How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins. Isaiah 64:5–7 (NIV) The very best that we have to offer God, our most righteous acts, when compared to God’s goodness, greatness, and holiness is like filthy rags (the actual Hebrew words literally mean “the rags of menstruation”). So no matter how good you think you are or how few your sins may be, each of us stand condemned in our sins before Jesus just like this woman. There is nothing we can do. God is just and right when he condemns us to hell! The true spiritual condition of every person who tries to earn their salvation, or impress God by their goodness, is given by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 (ESV) Imagine how sad the human story would be if this were its end. This woman, who anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume while continuously weeping, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and drying them with her hair is the perfect picture of everyone who has come to learn the rest of the story. Paul continues to write in Romans; 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:21–24 (ESV) There is no distinction, between the one who has sinned a lot and the one who has sinned only a little. All of us should be weeping at Jesus’ feet. The sad fact, however, is that there are those among us who do not fully understand the full extent of the work Jesus has done on our behalf. The result of their faulty perception is that they love Jesus only a little. Therefore, as I prepare my heart for Easter I must “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus! Whenever I come to truly understand His love I will realize that Jesus’ kind of love is unconditional, unconventional, and unstoppable!