love, beyond the knowledge of the world! any takers?

ఆమె విస్తారము గా ప్రేమించెను గనుక ఆమె విస్తార పాపములు క్షమించబడెనని నీతో చెప్పుచున్నాను. లూకా 7: 47

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven- for she loved much. For he who has been forgiven little loves little. Luke 7: 47

Long time back, when I was still in NIFT, one of my seniors, Niloy chatterji, who knows that I'm a church goer& little senti about Jesus, asked me this question.

"tell me about christianity?"

"believing that Jesus is christ(redeemer/saviour) & accepting Him as my personal saviour makes me saved. that's christianity."

"what about the sins you do?"

"because He died for my sins on the cross in my place, all my sins are forgiven."

"So? that's all? you do whatever you want to do& get away with it? your Jesus will still love you? what kind of a religion is this? "

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to explain. logic can be explained. "crime & punishment" can be explained. If somebody says " Your sins will be forgiven if you torture yourself by not eating for a month " that sounds reasonable. There are some churches in AP that say "visit our church for seven weeks then all your needs will be met". thousands & thousands throng those places. That looks logical. But not what Jesus offers! salvation free of cost? can't be. In the coming few posts I'll try to convey what I thought about this. right now let's look into the above verses .

The story goes like this. Jesus is sitting with a pharisee ( a very religious guy, somebody who follows the "law" very strictly), who invited Him for a dinner. A woman, who was a sinner( probably a prostitute), came to know that Jesus is at the pharisee's place. So she came to see Him. She was standing there with a alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. then she wiped with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. The room was filled with fragrance.

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 men 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 canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "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—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little- loves little."

Let's do some character study of this woman.

she is The sinful woman: who's calling her sinful? definitely not Jesus. coz He knows that " all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(romans 3: 23). Not just that lady. But she IS called sinner. Most probably a prostitute. what business does she got with Jesus?

Jesus, was the most happening at that time. It's like, you love Him or you hate Him, but you can't ignore Him types. Some people out of fascination, some people out of need (like healing, casting the demons etc.), some people out of sheer interest, to know whether He's the much awaited Messiah or not, some people out of wonder, just to see a man without sin( ex: mathew the tax collector), followed Him. where ever he went, multitudes followed . To hear Him, to see Him. That reason is good enough to explain why she wanted to see Him.

But to understad what she has done, like, wet His feet with tears, wipe them out with her hair, kiss his feet & to pour out a very precious alabaster oil on His feet, there must be more to the story.

A sinful lady. desired by some, hated by many. everybody, including her concience, points finger at her. She knows her sins. She's guilty from within. She's carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders. The burden of sin. She's tired of carrying it. every day the burden got heavier. She was looking for somebody who can take it away, somebody who can lighten it. But people added more& more to it everyday, By insulting, by mocking, by looking at her with lustful eyes. She was looking for a redeemer. Somebody who can take that weight off. She heard about Jesus. She longed to see Him. Jesus saw her. But He didn't speak to her. nor did she speak to Him. Before anybody could tell Him about her, He knows everything about her. With a heart filled with compassion& mercy He looked into her eyes. & that was enough. A miracle took place without even a single word spoken. She was broken. His love tranformed her in that very moment. She realized she's in the pressence of the Redeemer. tears started rolling. she's completely overwhelmed with repentence. with grattitude. with thankfulness. with love. A feeling which can not be explained in all these words. something beyond expalination. She didn't know what to say. She fell at His feet. washed them with her tears. wiped them with her hair. kissed them like the most beautiful thing she ever saw. Poured that precious oil on his feet & worshipped Him. The transforamtion that took place in that very moment, nobody who is around her knows. except Jesus& the woman. Some are still thinking about the past of the women, some are thinking about the cost of the oil. But the woman is filled with "inexpressible and glorious joy"( 1 peter 1:8). she lost herself in the state of tehillah. The destiny of her life changed in that very moment.

What a story! Every saved sinner, lost in the world, wandering without a direction ,not having a single person who loves with a true& unconditional love, carrying the burden of the yoke of sin, being rejected by moral police, being rejected by religious laws, knows this story. They'll tell you how one glorious day they bumped into this God called Jesus& how instead of turning His face away , He smiled at them. Instead of pushing them away, He hugged them. kissed them. Instead of judging& punishing ,he loved them. & transformed their lives forever. I'm one of them. Just like that woman.

The question my friend asked me keeps coming back to my thought. I wonder, why it's difficult for the world to understand the love of Jesus?

Because it's indeed, illogical.

But why do you think God, creator of this universe would fit into your logic?

don't you think your logic, is illogical?