The Beauty of Being Forgiven…
I wonder what it was like for the woman caught in the very act of sin in John 8:1-12. The overwhelming emotions she must have felt… the shame that hung over her head as a loud banner as she was exposed, guilty and soon would be sentenced to death. And with all the emotion and fear swirling around her like a Texas-sized tornado… she knew she needed a Savior… someone at that precise moment to step in and redeem her…
When others wanted to cast the first stone, Jesus stepped in and got to the heart of the matter and with great precision and authority said, “He who is without sin, let him throw a stone at her first.” Silence must have filled that moment… as His words pierced the accuser’s hearts and convicted their conscience. One by one they left… for you see, the Light of the world… Jesus Himself… met this woman in her most vulnerable and broken state… and gave her a life-changing gift… The Gift of Being Forgiven…
In the midst of her rescue, the Redeemer spoke these very heartfelt moving words… “Neither do I condemn you… go and sin no more.” Oh, what love and what forgiveness He bestowed upon her… this woman was given a pardon from a death sentence and could now live a new life of FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN! Darling, as I am writing you tears are pouring down my face… Forgiveness is truly such a beautiful thing to behold that has such depth and weight to it. Forgiveness when granted brings liberation… brings freedom… brings hope… hope for a NEW DAY and a fresh start. Forgiveness causes the one who has be forgiven of much, to love much…
There too was another woman who was bound by a lifestyle of sin in Luke 7:36-50. As Jesus was eating at the Pharisees home, a woman in the city who was a known sinner, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil… her very best… something of great worth to her… something that cost her much… and she stood at Jesus’ feet behind Him weeping… as her tears were pouring out like rain. As she began to wash His feet with her precious tears, and wiped them with her beautiful hair, she kissed His feet and anointed them with the costly, fragrant oil. Oh, how moving and intimate is this scene. A woman who understood in the depths of her soul she was in need of forgiveness and redemption. And at that precise moment of her giving her best… something of great worth to her… to the Lord, the Pharisee speaks to himself and says, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
Jesus knowing all things in a man’s heart turns to him and calls him by name and proceeds to tell him a story of two debtors… one who owed a lot of money… and one who owed a small amount. And when both debtors could not repay their creditor, he FORGAVE THEM BOTH their debt. Jesus then asked Simon, “Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him (the creditor) more?” Simon responds, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” Dear One, oh how precious our Lord is… He is Omniscient, All-Knowing, and sees to the heart of every matter. And in His perfect love, He teaches Simon and this woman about The Beauty of Being Forgiven…
And then Jesus turns to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My feet with fragrant oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, HER SINS, WHICH ARE MANY, ARE FORGIVEN, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven the same loves little.”
Could you imagine this woman and Simon hanging onto every word of Jesus… His words piercing their hearts. Then Jesus says to her, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” These four powerful words spoken from the lips of her Redeemer brought an immediate liberation to her… lifting off the heavy weight of her sin… releasing her from the bondage of her past failures and mistakes. And with these powerful words she knew she had been washed, thoroughly cleansed and FORGIVEN. Both women experienced firsthand The Beauty of Being Forgiven. Both women’s lives were forever changed the moment they came in contact with their Redeemer, and both women experienced a NEW LIFE through Him.
Oh, what a vast treasure we have in Jesus. And oh, how we can relate to these ladies as we too have been forgiven. Do you remember when you came to Christ? That special moment when you realized you needed a Savior… a Redeemer to liberate you from your lost and hopeless state? And when you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, how you felt a cleansing from all unrighteousness, from your past, and you experienced a NEWNESS OF LIFE in Him? What a life-changing moment that was. Our sins had been forgiven. Our past was our past… long gone. We experienced firsthand The Beauty of Being Forgiven and becoming a NEW CREATION in Him.
We now walk as women who have been forgiven… who understand the life-giving gift forgiveness truly is and what a beautiful thing it is to behold! And we have the promise that if we sin, and if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). And not only that, but in Psalm 103:10-12 we see, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” And if that was not enough, Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deed I will remember no more.” So, when we ask the Lord to forgive us for sinning against Him, ourselves or others… He forgives us, He cleanses us, He removes our sin and throws it as far as the east is from the west and then He chooses to remember it no more! Hallelujah! What Beauty There Is in Being Forgiven!
We have much to REJOICE in! Hallelujah!
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