The story in the Gospel or shall we say in the New Testament are colletions of what Jesus said and did and certainly not His autobiography. They are the most talk about stories about Jesus in Jesus time that are passed on from one community to another. One of those stories that caught my attention is about an unname woman who have lived a sinful life. She gate-crash a party in the house of a certain Simon where Jesus was invited. She risk meeting Jesus in that unfamiliar place. Surrounded by so called moralist and self-righteous crowd "she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kiss them and poured perfume on them." With faith she poured that very expensive perfumed that cost 365 day wages. That Alabastar Jar must have cost a lot that even Judas was moved to say, " it must have been sold and the money given to the poor. " Judas loves the poor more than Jesus by allowing it?
Unseen by their self-centered eyes, the woman is making a wordless confession, eloquently being spoken by gestures that only Jesus forgiving heart can see and hears. And Jesus understood and responded with love and an assurance of forgiveness saying " one who was pardoned more " has more reason to love more than the one little is forgiven. Not a word was spoken by the woman yet her action expresses her very purpose....... Forgiveness....and she got it.
Psychologist are saying for years that confession is essential to our health. It is good for the soul because it frees us to love when forgiven. Yes there is freedom in forgiveness....and you said my friend that without freedom there is no love.
When ever I look at you on the cross, I can see how hard, how difficult, how costly, it is to forgive. How far my friend are you willing to go to forgive me and this unforgiving world. You paid the debt that you did not owe. How can I look at you without seeing the love you gave for me. You are right. To love is to see the other as precious regardless of the wrong done or the injury felt. Help me then my friend to love even my enemy.
Ralf Luther wrote: " To love one's enemy does not mean to love the mire in which the pearl lies, but to love the pearl that lies in the mire. "
My friend,
As I have said, some truths are not enticing to reflect on and their recollection usually makes us decidedly uncomfortable. I am refering to that subject known as eschatology...the end times. I know most certainly that they are not pleasant topic to talk about and this truth is parenthetically bracketed and consign to oblivion. I am just wandering why many does not include death in their future list. Maybe it does not belong there...in the future. Maybe because it must be included in the now list. Death is appointed to all and should not be ignored because it is the surest event in our life.
Vicka of Medjugorje said, Death " is just like entering another room." Francis of Assisi said, " It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. " Jesus said, " It will come like a thief in the night." Yes it is frightening to even think about it if we are not prepared for it. " We do not know the hour" He continued.
" Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrise, no minutes, hours or days. All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do list will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fave away. It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you live, at the end. It won't matter wheter you were beatiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encourage others to emulat your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who love you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters. Choose Him who loves you." (This was sent to me via-email....thanks)
