I WILL ABUNDANTLY PARDON..2

There is a story of a woman recorded in the bible in the book of Luke Chapter 7 vs 37. The woman was described as a sinner who knew that Jesus sat at the table of a pharisees house and brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. The woman, much to the displeasure of Simon (the owner of the house) broke down in tears at the feet of Jesus;weeping and kissing his feet. She then anointed the feet of Jesus with the fragrant oil. Simon, in his attempt to
stop the woman and send her away; was interrupted by a question Jesus put to him.And Jesus answered and said to him; Simon I have something to say to you. So he said teacher say it. 'There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. tell Me therefore, which of them will love him more?' Simon answered and said;'I suppose the one he forgave more'. And he said to him,'You have rightly judged'. Then he turned 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 the hair of her head. 

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 head with 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.' Then he said to her,'YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN' (Luke 7: 40-48)

Dear Brethren, this is a classical example of the mercy and forgiveness of God. God does not see us and our circumstances the way men see us. The mistake Simon made was that he tried to judge the woman, which led to Jesus exposing his unkindness and comparing his poor attitude to the great love the woman showed. in effect, we can conclude that Simon received the judgment instead. Jesus said in (Luke 6:37) 'Judge not, and you shall not be judged, condemn not and you shall not be condemned, forgive and you will be forgiven'. God is always faithful to His words.

The word of God says that we should rather judge ourselves; 'For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged' (1st Corinthians 11:31). The woman judged herself  with tears through the conviction of her conscience in the presence of the Lord and so there was no need for the Lord to judge her anymore but rather to show MERCY because mercy triumphs over judgment (see James2:13).

The Lord only wants us to acknowledge our sins in his presence and be truly sorry for them. He says in (Jeremiah 3:12-13)' I will not cause My anger to fall on you for I am merciful says the Lord', 'I will not remain angry forever, only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God'. King David was familiar with sin but was quick to repent. That's why he said in (Psalm 32:5) 'I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity i have not hidden', I said 'i will confess my transgressions to the Lord' And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

So brothers, as the prophet Jeremiah encouraged us in the book of (Lamentations 3: 40) ' Let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord'

For He will abundantly pardon...
Shalom