Her Sins My Sins Which are Many...
"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Luke 7:47 NASB1995
Luke 7:36-50 truly is a beautiful picture of grace and love through the lens of forgiveness and service. Here this “sins which are many” woman is literally pouring tears out to wash the feet of Jesus with because of the mercy she received from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Her self-awareness was truly remarkable, noteworthy, and exemplary. When I consider her and look at myself, I know all too often I have not remorsed for sin, nor rejoiced for forgiveness, as I should. And therein lies the relationship.
He who is forgiven much loves much, and he who is forgiven little loves little. While Jesus used the practical Parable of the Creditor that forgave two different-sized debts to demonstrate the relationship of forgiveness to love, the truth is, for us as people, all of our debt of sin is unpayable to the Lord. For, “who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luke 5:21) Whether you sin a little or I sin a lot; neither of us can pay that debt. Thanks be to God it has been paid by the blood of Jesus. (I Peter 1:18-21) I say, “Thanks to God”. We may say, “Thanks to God”. But do our reactions to God’s forgiveness really say thanks? Maybe they say thanks like the Pharisee inviting Jesus into his home for a meal, or maybe they say thanks like the woman wiping Jesus' feet with her hair that had been wet with her tears and kisses. As we grow as Christians, may it ever be more like the latter.
But herein lies the issue, the self-perception and self-of the debt of sin we owe. For though the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), we often see our own sin as a simple “inconvenience” to God, and not a suffering-on-the-cross-life-giving sacrifice. How we view our sin will in large part determine how we react to it. It will determine how we view any forgiveness of it and response of love associated with that forgiveness.
What does the way you live your life say about how you view the forgiveness of the Lord? What you pray and how you pray? How often you worship and how hard (in spirit and truth rather than routine or habit or tradition) do you worship?! How you serve the Lord and His people; is it reflective of someone who truly knows the cost of their sin, and even more so, the cost of their forgiveness? Does your level of love through service in the kingdom reflect that you view your sins as “little” or “much”? May God be merciful to us when we fail to see how great our sin is, and even more so, how great His love is! May our hearts be opened to great remorsefulness for our sin and great rejoicefulness in His forgiveness, and may it be seen and known by all, like our sister-in-grace who washed and anointed the feet of Jesus with her humility, gratitude, and love.
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