Kissing His Feet

There is always so much going on in my life and, especially now, in the world, that I really could spend all day and all night taking care of my family, doing what needs to be done and turning over and over in my mind and my prayers all of the problems I face and see around me.  I have to remind myself and be reminded often that although these things may be pressing, they are also distractions.  The hungry and hurting need us.  The lost need us.  Our families certainly need us but we were not created for the lost or the hungry or our families.  We were not created for our careers or ministries or for our own pleasure.

It is simple and it is profound. We were created for one thing and that is to be deeply connected to and in intimate relationship with Jesus.  He is both the God of the universe and the Son of Man who still loves to hang out with sinners. He always has time and is never in a hurry. It seems that when I have those times of deep fellowship, those incredible encounters behind the veil, I am so overcome by His love and how He has forgiven and rescued me that all I can do is weep.  It’s not a sadness but a thankfulness.  In the secret place with Jesus is really the only place that we can clearly see who we are and who He is and that revelation coupled with knowledge of what He has done for me disarms me completely.

It reminds me of the story of Mary Magdelene.  She had seen and heard Jesus before I’m sure and in the light of her own desperate need and the revelation of exactly who He was all she wanted to do was to pour out the best of what she had and kiss his feet (that’s how I feel!).  The men around her scoffed and pointed out that the oil she “wasted” on Jesus could have been sold and given to the poor but really they were just uncomfortable with an expression of such real worship and raw honesty that they themselves were unwilling or unable to enter into.  If we are to be truly in His presence, except for on superficial terms, we cannot hide who we really are.  We cannot hide our human depravity and the many wounds that come along with being human.  When we take that step, we realize that our sins and hurts are met with a love so incredible and by a God so pure that the only sane response is to fall in love with Him and worship at His feet.

That’s how it is every time. Over and over again I fall in love with Him.  I can’t play beautiful music or even sing a song in tune so I weep in His presence and write a few feeble words and long for Him with every fiber of my being when I am not in that place.  Right now, if I could sing, it would be this song.  Enjoy and worship Him.   

^{Luke 7:36-40 NLT}

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. ³⁷ When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. ³⁸ Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

⁴¹ Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver^[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. ⁴² But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.⁴⁵ You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

⁴⁷ “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”

⁵⁰ And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Is Judgement Necessarily Condemnation?

^{1 Corinthians 3}

¹³The work of each [one] will become [plainly, openly] known (shown for what it is); for the day [of Christ] will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done.

¹⁴If the work which any person has built on this Foundation [any product of his efforts whatever] survives [this test], he will get his reward.
¹⁵But if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has passed] through fire. (AMP)

Since I’ve become an adult, I haven’t heard many sermons based on this text.  In fact, I’ve sat in churches that never mention sin, let alone that one day, even as believers, we will give an account for our lives.  I think people shy away from this truth because they’ve got it backward.  When we look at our lives, most of us can see a lot of wood, hay and stubble and it grieves us.  So, with that in mind, we don’t want people to come on Sunday and leave feeling condemned or hopeless for fear that they will just give up.  I understand that but I think it is missing God’s heart.  I think we sometimes attribute to God what is in our hearts, not His.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world.  We know that because of  John 3:17:
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (KJV)  So then, what is going on here?  What if, just for a moment, our eyes were free of guilt and condemnation, and we saw this passage through His eyes of grace?  What if we no longer saw this as the epitome of our own fear of failure but rather the pinnacle of God’s mercy and grace?  Let’s look at it again.

It is true that every wrong motive will be revealed and the works of our flesh will go up in smoke, but is that really so bad?  All that means is that in the presence of pure holiness, everything we’ve done will get a bath and those things that we did by the Spirit will now shine and will no longer be overshadowed by anything of our flesh.  That’s not even the best part!  The best part is that this means we have an opportunity now to live our lives as a living sacrifice, continually in the holy fire of God, and one day, when we stand before Him, we will receive the ultimate reward of laying our crowns at the feet of Jesus.

And what of those whose works do not stand the test?  Even more mercy.  They’re lives are purged by the fire and they remain in His presence beholding His smile.  In my view, these are ones, who for whatever reason, never got the amazing opportunity to really get to know Him on Earth.  Because as we get to know Him, and as our friendship with Him deepens, it is practically impossible not to love Him so much that we gladly enter the fire of His Presence now so that by the time we get there, there is much less purging to be done.

Our God is not a harsh taskmaster, that would be the Enemy.  He is not condemning and He is not here to make us feel guilty.  He is however, holy.  He holds that as the standard, not to grieve us but to free us and to fill us with joy unspeakable. We, who have and are nothing, have the opportunity to thank Jesus with the lives we lived on Earth.  There is no greater joy that I can imagine than to see Him smiling at us.

And He will.