Sweet Smell of Forgiveness

I have been attending the same church since I was eight years old, so it wouldn’t be necessary for me to show up one Sunday wearing a name tag. On the other hand, I have some friends that attend a very large congregation and are used to the routine of wearing one. It is a clear way to get to know one another. Although, if someone wrote on his name tag “Hello my name is…desperate;” I don’t think it would attract the right attention. However, the truth is that this is the exact state that Jesus wants us to reach.

In Luke 7, Jesus is dining with a Pharisee when a sinful woman interrupts them. She is caring an alabaster jar of perfume and weeping. The woman “began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them (Luke 7:38).” This woman barged in, unannounced, to show her desperate need for Jesus. She kissed the dirtiest part of his body, and didn’t seem to mind. She let down her hair, which should have been covered, and used it to wipe her tears. She poured perfume to create an aroma of adoration. This woman did not let herself or her sin get in the way of her love for Jesus. “People who are desperate for spirituality very seldom worry about the mess they make on their way to be with Jesus-Michael Yaconelli.”

Jesus proclaimed, “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little (Luke 7: 47).” Jesus chose to focus on her love rather than her sin. He did not tell the woman that she needed to wait to be forgiven, or that she needed to earn it. She was forgiven at that very moment.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (1 John 1:8-10).” It is inevitable that we will sin in this world, but how will we deal with it? We need to confess our sin, and have faith that Jesus will forgive.

This woman’s desperation led her to recognize the fullness of the love of Jesus. Ask yourself what you would do in order to receive this? Desperation should not equate with sadness or solitude, but as a means to experience the sweet forgiveness and love of our Savior.