He Will Not Turn You Away

In Luke 7:36-50, we read the story of the sinful woman. Now, Scripture does not tell us what makes her a sinful woman, but then again, we are all sinners so it doesn't really matter. All sin is a rebellion against God - it is a debt none of us can pay. It doesn't matter what the sin is or how big or small we think it is. We are no better than this woman.

Apparently her reputation is known, but when she hers that Jesus is having dinner at a Pharisee's home, she decides to 'crash the party.' Now, this is a big scandal. She is certainly not welcome at the Pharisee's home, much less dinner. Perhaps you have felt the same way. Yet, there she is. The woman comes to Jesus and weeps.

You see, Jesus attracts and welcomes sinners who come in humility and repentance. Jesus knew exactly who she was and He knows exactly who we are. There is no hiding from the Son of God. But as the story shows us, while others may reject us, Jesus will not.

When others reject us, we can always come to Christ in humility. The sinful woman, demonstrates that if you come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness with all your heart, He will not turn you away.

Easter Message

In John 20, we read about a tomb. This one is empty. Jesus has been crucified and He has been buried. Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb only to find the stone removed and the tomb empty. In John 20:11 we read, "but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

When we are faced with some crisis, when our walk with Christ doesn’t seem especially joyful, it in some ways it might have felt like how Mary felt looking into the empty tomb. It may seem like things do not make sense. We may even ask the question, “Why does God allow this to happen?” We must remember that God is working out all the details and He makes no mistakes.

As Christians, we are often tempted to be discouraged or depressed when faced with situations that may seem insurmountable or uncontrollable. But Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" And he wrote this while in prison.

Perhaps like Mary, we peer into an empty tomb. But that can be a good thing. When we are discouraged, look to the tomb. Instead of weeping, we should be rejoicing. The empty tomb is a sign of our hope. It is the sign of our new life. It shows us that nothing can prevent the plans of God.