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 people 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 forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.’ ‘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—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’
Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” (Luke 7:36-50 NIV)
Recently, I was looking online at life insurance policies. My current policy ends in a few months and I’m looking for a new policy to replace it. On one site, I was asked to take a health quiz, with questions such as: Are you a smoker or have you ever smoked? What is your driving record? Do you have family members who have ever had, or died as a result of, heart disease or cancer? After I answered the questions, the results were that I was merely in “fair’ health.
The reality is I am probably in the best health I’ve been in my whole life. I work out three times a week, my cholesterol is as low as it’s been in over a decade, and my blood pressure is as well. Yet, because of my health history and that of my family, this particular insurance company’s evaluation of my health is one of skepticism as it relates to my future.
The story of the “sinful woman” is just one of many the Gospels tell of people whose futures have already been predetermined by a skeptical society. Promiscuous women, crippled men, corrupt officials, and people with incurable diseases and afflictions were all viewed as having no prospects of a better life. They were defined by either what they had done or by the afflictions from which they suffered. The tax collector. The adulteress. The prostitute. The leper. The man born blind. And in those labels was found no hope.
But Jesus changed that. The tax collector was given a new vocation. The adulteress and the prostitute were forgiven. The leper and the blind man were healed. While society attached labels of hopelessness to these men and women, Jesus saw beyond the pessimistic outlook to who they really were and who they could become.
In my work on campus, I see many students accepting the labels given to them by themselves or others. They consider themselves “losers,” “worthless,” “depressed,” “anxious,” “stupid,” “ugly,” or a number of others by which they define themselves.
Just as Jesus did in His days on earth, He sees beyond these labels and defines no one by them. What He sees, rather, are individuals in need of healing and transformation, both of which He can bring. He is not put off by the present nor the past.
Today, consider the labels by which you define yourself. Are they the result of what people have told you or of what you have done? If so, know these are no obstacles for Jesus. He is in the business of removal and restoration—removing labels and transforming people into what they were created to be. What He has done for millions, He wants to do for you as well.
© Jim Musser 2016
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