One of the most heart-warming, moving messages in scripture is about God being a defender of the widow and the orphan. Widows and orphans fit into the category of the defenseless, disadvantaged, and downtrodden. The King of kings and Lord of lords could snub His nose at those who have nothing to offer but instead He seeks to bless the underdog in a dog-eat-dog world where selfish people look out for number one. God is different, and we see that when He comes to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. We especially see it in the gospel of Luke where the painted portrait of Jesus is that of a minister to the outcasts of society. The sinner woman(Luke 7), the prodigal son(Luke 15), the thief on the cross(Luke 23) – all outcasts who end up as insiders because Jesus has “come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That’s good news for you and me – because guess what? We are all sinners undeserving of a relationship with God; however, because God is a God of mercy, kindness, and love He will come to help us if we turn to Him. This song, How Many Kings, has some of the best lyrics and melody I’ve ever heard. Listen to it twice so you get all the words in your heart. Read Luke 7:36-50 and put yourself in the sandals of the sinner woman. How Many Kings by Downhere.
P.S. Imagine if you took a few minutes each day to forward these morning scripture/song devotionals to co-workers, family, friends, etc.? How hard is that? Maybe they will help a loved one come closer to Jesus. Maybe when this crazy virus goes away they will come to visit Walnut Hill Church of Christ and one day go to heaven.
Luke 7:36-50
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”