Alabaster Heart!
Luke 7:36-50 (NLT)
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash 
the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The affections of the human heart are the most precious possession to God. Love cannot be required of someone. It is an act of our will to voluntarily give our heart and affections to another. We choose to “set our love” on Jesus and in doing so, we break open our alabaster jar and give Him the desire He longs for. It is the mostly costly gift we can give Him.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
So very beautiful.
Oh so true, Lynn. Our Lord desires to spend time with us and to have our hearts. What a beautiful passages you have tied in with Valentines day. I am glad that our Lord doesn’t reject me because I am a sinner.
Thank you so much for sharing this morning. Blessings on your day and always.
Lynn, I’m sitting here with my mouth wide open. The Lord gave this passage to me again last night! Just before and after our prayer last week, we’ve been sort of at odds. The promise of this passage was repeated to me last night, with more ‘personal to us’ revelation. So I open this up and my mouth just FALLS OPEN. Not only is it another confirmation from last week, it is also confirmation of the way I’ve finally chosen to handle the current situation. Convicting and confirming all at once. I am astonished!
Lynn, thank you so much for this devotion. I have always loved the story of the woman with the alabaster box. Thank you for sharing it in such a beautiful way.