10 Days of Thankfulness: Christ my Redeemer

She had lived for years with the shame of her choices.  No one noticed her.  No one spoke to her.  Most sneered at her, quickly moving away from her unless they too would be polluted by her sin.  Some laughed.  Some looked with compassion, but they never offered to help.  

She was a sinner.  And she knew it too. 

There was a rumor of freedom.  Could it be true?  She had heard so many stories, wonderful things, and she hoped they could be true of her some day.  She longed to be free from her prison.  Every time her reflection caught her eye, she would cringe at the sight.  Sin was a cage that kept her locked up.  Could she ever be free?  Oh, how she wished to be free from her sin.  Was there not some way to get rid of it?  

As a child, she was told about God.  She knew that He accepted the blood of animals as a covering for sins.  How long must she offer animal blood, she didn't know; and neither did anyone else.  

"We will wait for the Messiah.  He will come and set us free."  

Free.  

She moved deftly through the crowd.  There were always crowds of people around Jesus, but no one noticed her slight frame moving closer to the house.  She walked with purpose, yet cautiously for fear of dropping the precious container in her hands.  She gingerly fingered the bottle.  Inside was a precious, expensive ointment.  She wanted to give it to Jesus.  

Maybe He would forgive her sins too.  

This was the home of Simon, one of the Pharisees.  It was a beautiful home, full of people, good smelling, food, and the Teacher.  He had been invited there to eat.  As she moved inside the house, she began to feel the judgement.  She was surprised that no one stopped her when she came into the main room of the house and stood behind Jesus.  

She began to weep.  Years of guilt and shame poured over her.  The sobs wracked her body.  She knelt down before the Teacher and began to wipe His feet with her hair.  The tears wet His feet; she kissed them and anointed them with the precious ointment.  

She heard behind her, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." said Simon the Pharisee.  

Jesus gently looked at the woman at His feet, and then to Simon.  "Simon, I have something to say to you."

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon looked confused, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt."

Jesus nodded, "You have judge rightly."  

He shifted His gaze to look at the woman kneeling before Him, and said, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." 

And looking at her, He said, “Your sins are forgiven.”

She looked up into His eyes, and joy flooded her heart.  

Forgiven?  
Her sins, really forgiven?  

This is the promise of redemption.  Christ paid the debt for sin, yet not for mine or hers only-but for the world.  This Jesus is the Messiah.  He is the Son of God.  He came to earth, 100% God and 100% man.  He lived a perfect life to pay the penalty for sin.  Redemption and forgiveness are free for all who believe by faith in Christ.  

Here is something to be thankful for:  He bought us out of the slave-market of sin, never to be sold again!  He is our Redeemer.  He is my Savior.  

~ Adapted from Luke 7:36-50

The Mask Wearing Crowd

She stood there with a mask.  Her face all a picture of calm, serene, godly, joyful.  The plastic smile ready to greet me.  He stood there too.  His mask looked the same.  Together, they made a formidable pair.  They were talking to each other, with their masks held on tight, but neither seemed to notice me.

I was broken, sitting alone.  I watched the charade.

What little conversation passed between them was unimportant to me.  It looked normal, but then, so did the fake faces.  Of course, there was his gentle compliment, her smiling acknowledgement; followed by the "spiritual" question.  This begged a "spiritual" answer.  After a few minutes of stimulating conversation, they both smiled at each other, adjusted their masks and walked away.

I was broken, sitting alone.  I watched the charade, empty and full of false pretense.

The charade

It was a charade.  As a child, I loved this game.  My friends and I would play for hours, acting out and guessing one another's clues.  The moderator would give us a person, place, or thing, and we would have to act it out without words.  It was a game of mime.  Yet it was fun, and we all knew that we were just acting.  It wasn't serious.
Or do you remember those childhood masks of zoo animals or super-hero's?  They would come out every  once in a while, usually just for play.  Whatever game had been going on before, as soon as the lion mask was donned, we were running for our lives on an African safari hunt.  What changed our game of playing house?  The mask.

The mask wearing crowd

We all wear masks, everyone of us.  We put them on when we're with other people.  They are nice looking, professional, friendly, and spiritual.  The mask protects us (or so we think).  It keeps up the reputation of "good person".  Our masks are formed when who we think we are (or should be) does not match who we really are.  These ideas are fueled by our natural inclination

to perform to be accepted,

to keep our good name,

to pretend everything's okay, 

to serve others for ourselves, 

to look spiritual, 

to be strong and responsible, and 

to be comfortable and indifferent.

We are so good at wearing masks.  It is almost so natural, that many times, we are never seen without them. We are afraid of others opinions.  Or afraid of ourselves.  We know our hearts, the deepest secrets, desires, and sinful habits.  And so does God, and even more so.  We who wear the masks are the hypocrites.  We look one way, while on the inside we are something else.  We play the Pharisee.  

The gospel accounts are filled with times when Jesus confronted the Pharisee crowd.  These men were more concerned about tradition, religion, personal spirituality, and appearance than their own soul.  They were not looking for a Messiah, because they believed that God would accept them based on what they did.  They were professional mask-wearers.  "So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.  You hypocrite!  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of me.'"  (Matt. 15:6-9)  

Romans 7

The apostle Paul wrestled with who he was and who he wanted to be in Romans 7.  He said, "For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." (vs. 15-20)

As believers in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are not dealing with the power or penalty of sin.  The sin in our world today, though still present, does not have a hold on us because of Christ.  By faith, we have been accepted in Him as His children--new creations--to walk before Him holy and blameless in love.  The mask of sin has no power, I am new in Christ!!!   

Showing my face

Oh, the joy that comes from knowing our identity is not found in who we think we are or should be!  See the freedom that comes from resting in Christ!  Gone is the mask of performance, doing things for others to be accepted.  Gone is the mask of reputation, risking everything to keep up my good name.  Gone is the mask of indifference, pretending I don't care.  Gone is the mask of spirituality, acting like a Pharisee.  They are gone.  I am free!

Where does reality come in?  How can I live as one free in Christ?
It's not rocket science.

Truth/Trusting:
It starts with the fundamental knowledge of being a child of God.  By faith, we take Him at His word and trust His promises.  We look in His word for truths about our new identity, and go forward in the strength of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Remain/Time:
As we move forward everyday, we make little choices on whom we will follow.  Scripture says to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.  To dwell means to make residence or to remain.  The tendency to put on the old familiar mask won't have any charm as we see the reality of who we are in Christ.  There is no fear in His love.

Respond/Worship:
All of this goes back to the truth that God is working all things according to His will for His own glory.  We are living a life of worship, not putting on the Sunday-morning-worship-mask.  We live and breathe to give glory to God.

Set your Mind:  
It's a choice.  "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  (Col. 3:2-3)

Don't be afraid to show your face.  There is freedom in vulnerability, showing the face that God has redeemed and made new.  There is no fear in His love, but joy comes from resting and being held by His hands.  Your story is no longer one of shame, but one of redemption, pointing to the grace of God.