Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Luke 7:36–50
Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Reflection
She enters uninvited, carrying an alabaster jar and a reputation. The room is thick with judgment. Simon, the religious host, sees only her label: “a sinner.” But Jesus sees her tears, her silence, and the way she kneels at His feet.
Her actions are a kind of embodied confession. She does not recite a formula. She weeps, washes His feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, and pours out costly perfume. Everything respectable in her world says this is too much—too emotional, too extravagant, too inappropriate. Jesus calls it love.
“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much.” He is not saying her love earned her forgiveness, but that her love is evidence of the forgiveness she has received. Those who know they have been forgiven much, love much. Those who imagine they need little mercy, love little.
Many of us carry hidden shame like this woman—memories we keep in the shadows, convinced they disqualify us. Yet when she brings her shame to Jesus, she finds not exposure but embrace. He defends her in front of her accusers and sends her out in peace.
Love in the wilderness looks like this: a safe Savior who can hold both our sin and our tenderness without flinching.
A Prayer of Presence
Jesus,
I bring You the parts of my story I most want to hide. Let my tears be welcome to You, my vulnerability safe in Your presence. Forgive me much, and teach me to love much in return. – Amen
Practice for Today
Write a brief letter to Jesus from the most ashamed part of your heart or history. Don’t edit it. Then, imagine Him lifting your face and speaking words of peace. Then, burn or shred the letter. Jot down anything you sense Him saying to you in return.
Consider This...
Where have I believed that my sin or shame is “too much” for Jesus—and how does this story challenge that belief?
Carry This Prayer With You Today
Breathe in: Thank you for loving me...
Breathe out: ... in spite of my faults
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