How He loves
- Gary Fritsch
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
There is a phrase in the John's Gospel, right before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, where Jesus weeps and the onlookers say: "See how he loved him." The phrase clearly refers to how MUCH Jesus loved him. I've always thought this to be an interesting play on words, since He then raises Lazarus. It's as though they could repeat the phrase "See HOW he loved him." We see, perhaps, the flip side of this in today's Gospel.
The woman in today's Gospel, who many claim is Mary Magdalene, or perhaps Mary the sister of Lazarus (or even both, as some might surmise) shows her great love for Jesus because she has much to be forgiven. Interestingly, it does not seem that she is already forgiven when she begins wiping Jesus' fee with her hair and tears. She is loving Him because He CAN forgive her. In essence, she is recognizing that He is God, because as the Pharisees soon remark, only God can forgive sins.
Mercy is the way that God loves. I often refer to Psalm 136 where we hear the Israelites speak of the great acts of God and after each, the psalm exclaims: and His mercy endures forever. In some translations, however, it reads "and His love endures forever." Hmm. Turns out, the Hebrew word they are trying to translate is hesed, and it means steadfast lovingkindness. The steadfast part is His mercy. He loves us despite our sins and failings - no matter how many. This is why the statement 'See how He loved [them]' is referring to both how MUCH and HOW. The question is: have we gotten in touch with both of these dimensions?
Have we considered that God loves us through His mercy and availed ourselves of it? Maybe first and foremost, have we considered how much we need His forgiveness. I think that this is what brings us running to the Lord. We have a need and He is the only one that can meet it. Do we run to Him and love Him because of who He is and the way He loves, like the woman whose tears and hair wash the Master's feet?
I can't encourage you enough to seek His forgiveness. It is the greatest way in which you will know His steadfast lovingkindness for you. Confession can seem daunting because we don't want to hold a mirror up to our sins, but it is through this that we will come to love Him fully and know His love for us deep in our hearts - and oh, how He loves us.
I've included a link to an awesome song from Crowder that expresses this in a very heartfelt way. Give it listen:
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