Sex, Purity, And The Longings Of A Girl's Heartنموونە

Redeemed and Renamed

Silence filled the room. But that didn’t stop her. With tears streaming down her face, she opened up a little flask of perfume. She poured the ointment on his dirty feet and used her own hair to wipe them. Nobody moved. Jesus looked down at her. His eyes filled with compassion, and He lovingly said: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

The true story of the prostitute woman is a powerful example of what it looks like to passionately pursue forgiveness, restoration, and wholeness in Christ. This is what God desires for each one of us—that we would love Him above all else. Luke 10:27 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” Just like He wanted for the prostitute woman, God wants each one of us to come to Him in humble repentance, desiring unity with Him. He wants us to trade in the cheap pleasures of this world for a soul-satisfying relationship with Him.

Just as Jesus loved and welcomed this sexually broken woman in Luke 7, He is still welcoming sexually broken women today. Jesus welcomes the hurting. He invites the weary. He takes what is broken and shattered and makes it whole again: “. . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” (Isaiah 61:3). Our brokenness doesn’t render us useless to God. It is because of our brokenness that we become a beautiful display of His amazing grace. 

He gave the prostitute woman a new identity and future. Neither her past acts or the shame she carried, nor the judgment or opinion of others determined her identity. Only one Person has the authority to define who you are, and that is Jesus Christ. If you profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are a daughter of the most High King and your worth and value come from Him only—not from what you’ve done or what’s been done to you. Belonging to Jesus means He covers our sin with His own righteousness. No one is too sexually broken or too far gone that the love and forgiveness of Jesus is not greater still.

How have you seen God transform your ashes into beauty for His glory? What specific prayers do you want to bring before God?