Sandcastle Kings By Rich Wilkerson, Jr. Sýnishorn

Moving Past Your Past

How would you react if a prostitute showed up uninvited to a party where you were the guest of honor, knelt down at your feet, busted open a marble box full of perfume, and then began scrubbing your feet using that perfume and her tears? And then she dried your feet with her hair. You would freak out, right? But Jesus did not freak out. Jesus knew exactly what this woman was doing.

In that day it was a sign of respect to anoint a person’s head with oil or perfume. But this woman likely did not feel worthy of honoring Jesus that way, so she anointed his feet, the lowest part of the body. Luke tells us that she even kissed Jesus’ feet, a sign of utmost humility and submission. The woman was expressing her tremendous gratitude to Jesus, most likely for the free gift of salvation. Her joy in Jesus’ presence was so overwhelming that she couldn’t stop crying. Her worship was loud and visible.

But right in the middle of her beautiful response to Jesus’ grace, condemnation rears its ugly head. The party’s host, a Pharisee, was outraged that Jesus would allow this woman, probably a prostitute, to touch him. She was unclean. What was Jesus thinking, letting her touch him? As the Pharisee’s response shows, it does not take much to reveal a spirit of condemnation. All you have to do is to start loving sinners. The moment you do, condemnation will rise up. We must not let the voice of the Pharisee be louder than the voice of the Savior. We must not let condemnation speak louder than grace.

Sin, of course, is awful, and there is a time and place for calling it out. I’m not saying we should go soft on sin. I’m saying we should go bigger on grace. Condemnation is great at producing shame, guilt, and fear, and that is often how the Holy Spirit starts to bring us conviction for our sins. But none of these things are meant to be the basis for a healthy relationship with God or with anyone else. Relationships grow and mature based on honesty, trust, and love. And God wants us in that kind of relationship with him.

We have all failed, but praise God for Jesus, in whom we are forgiven.