Following Jesus means walking in the way of Jesus, and the way of Jesus is the way of love.
Luke 7:36-50 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 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.”
Simon the Pharisee really represents the way religious people thought about God in Jesus’ day – that he would be more impressed with religious people than with sinners.
Jesus shows us the way of love by offering unconditional grace and acceptance to the lady who had been identified by her sin.
Religion vs. Love
- Religion labels you by your performance (a sinner).
- Love identifies you as a beloved creation of God.
- Religion sets us up in competition with each other.
- Love makes the way possible for everyone.
- Religion makes you earn your way to God.
- Love reconciles on the basis of grace.
So, how do you become a disciple who walks in the way of Jesus, the way of Love?
1. You receive the love that God pours out upon you.
You can’t pass on what you don’t possess.
You have to recognize that
2. You pour out your love for God as an act of worship.
3. You love other people the way God has loved you.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT
[1] If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. [3] If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
