The woman, now set free, was overflowing with thankfulness...

Jesus looked upon people with a different perspective than the Religious....... MATTHEW 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion (pity and sympathy) on them, because they fainted (harassed, distressed, dejected, and helpless) and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. When Jesus was invited to dinner in the house of a well known Pharisee (religious man)named Simon, their dinner was interrupted by a woman so touched by her interactions with Jesus that she fell to his feet and covered them with tears, and wiped them with her hair. What did Simon see? He didn’t see what God wanted him to see; he was blind to the very work of God. Simon’s perspective was this: LUKE 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had invited him saw this, he spake within himself, saying, this man if he were a profit, would know what manner of woman this is, for she is a sinner. Simon saw the sinner; but he didn’t see the woman. He put her in a category in his mind, that allowed him to cast his judgment upon her without consulting his heart, or the heart of God. But Jesus was different, He didn’t look at the sinner; He saw a lost woman that needed to be rescued from her sin. The woman, now set free, was overflowing with thankfulness. Heaven was erupting with joy and dancing. God was rejoicing, but Simon missed the whole thing. Jesus asked him: “Do you see this woman?” What about us? What do we see when we look at the world today? Do we see this woman? Do we see this man? Do we see them as lost sheep? Do we see them as the very reason Jesus came? Do we see God’s plan for restoration? Do we see the pain they are in? Do we see their need for love? Or do we just see the sin? The sinner? The drunkard, the thief, the homosexual, the murderer, the racist, the prostitute, and the liar. It’s easy to see the sin, but do we see the person? Do we see the lost sheep that God came to save. The blind, the broken hearted, the oppressed, the bound, the harassed and the hopeless, like a sheep without a Shepherd? Simon, was blind to the miracle; he had eyes, but he couldn’t see. He only saw the sinner, he saw her past, but he didn’t see what truly counted. He couldn’t see the unfailing love Jesus had for this woman. He couldn’t see the acceptance Jesus offered her. He couldn’t see how the love of God had led this woman into freedom. He missed it all, because all he saw was the sin in the sinner. What he was blind to was the transaction that had happened in this woman’s heart through the love and kindness of Jesus. When we see people the way Jesus sees them, then we truly see. Love is the eye sight of God. Love is His way. Rescue, salvation, reconciliation and new life , that’s God’s agenda. For Jesus came, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. We serve a God who saves. A God who loves. Dear Lord let us see people the way you see them and know that this is the mercy you have shown us! Those who love much have been forgiven much! Jeff