At the Feet of Jesus

"And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment." Luke 7:37-38

Hurt. Ashamed. At the end of the rope. Have you ever felt so low and hurt that it was not even an option to express it? Have you ever felt a hurt and shame so deep that in order to let it out, you feel like you must vomit it out, because it's rooted so deep? And once you began releasing it, the flood of emotions and tears seemed unable to find a bottom?

If you have ever felt that way, you can identify with this woman in Luke who washed Jesus' feet with her tears. Contrary to popular belief, we do not really know who this woman is. We only know that she is a sinner. Also, in contrast to popular belief, it does not say that she was a prostitute. We do not know her sin. We only know that it was great. She may have been guilty of infanticide, or stealing from the sick, or lieing, or betrayal, or any multitude or combination of sins.

The fact is that she was a sinner. And by being a sinner, any of us should be able to sympathize with her. Not knowing her particular sin allows us to put ourselves in her place. And surely we have all been there. I know for certain that I have been there. It is not a pleasant place.

This woman was so ashamed of her sinful life that she crawled along the floor until she got to our Lord's feet. She was so grateful for the opportunity to be allowed to caress his feet that she cried. She cried and she cried and she cried. You see, tears are often the beginning of cleansing our soul. The tears she cried were not crocodile tears, they were tears which came from deep within. Maybe by being in the presence of one so holy, she began to see herself for what she was and was moved to repent of her evil ways. Maybe her only option was to either free herself from her deplorable ways or risk a total decent into mortal, mental or spiritual death.

Have you ever been there?

If you have, you know what a lonely, dead, cold, awful, rotten place it is. She wanted out! She saw a glimmer of light. She crawled to that light and grabbed it with all she had left - even though she didn't have very much left. She saw hope! She saw peace! She saw love! She saw healing! She saw Jesus! And she knew he was the Way!

It filled her soul with a longing she could not explain and it all exploded as tears on his feet and once she started crying she could not stop. There was no way she could. At first it probably felt as though she would just die right at his feet.

Have you ever cried and hurt within so much that you felt as though you could just die right there?

The tears just kept coming and she couldn't stop them and eventually she didn't want to stop them! As she cried, what she was seeking (that she didn't even know she was seeking) began to flood her soul...her mind...her spirit!

She now had joy! She had peace! She had healing! She had love! She had redemption! She had Jesus!

And then she did something else! She gave Jesus all she had to give materially. She gave him her life savings! Why? Because he had given her everything! Nothing could compare to what he had given her.

I don't believe it seemed a sacrifice to her to anoint his feet with the costly oil. It was a gesture of gratefulness for saving her life! And giving it back to her much more abundantly than she could ever imagine! Jesus had put her back into the good graces of the Father! Nothing can top that or pay for that!

Yes, this woman was as hurt and filled with sin as anyone has ever been, but she was led to the right place to be released from it. That place is still there for us today. That place can only be found when we are sincere and humble ourselves and judge ourselves and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways!

That place is found at the feet of Jesus, whom the Father has put there for the remission of our sins! So when we get weighed down, and shamed and hurt and have had enough of killing ourselves, we can go there, just like she did and find relief!

Peace, blessings and much respect!