Have you ever been so overcome with love for your Savior that you find yourself losing control? You find yourself in a spot where you just don’t care what people think – you are willing to act like a fool if need be, to show others just how much He means to you.
There have been many times that I have experienced such joy – times where I just started sobbing. It could have been from an answer to a specific prayer; or a magnificent blessing that God decides to give me, just because He loves me.
Another thing that brings me great joy is that Jesus refuses to acknowledge the worldly status of people. It doesn’t matter if they’re the biggest stars in Hollywood – they are no more special than you or me. As a matter of fact, the Bible is full of relatively insignificant people who are given special attention by our Lord.
Think of the “sinful woman” spoken about in Luke 7:36-50.
We don’t know her name, just like the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42) I mentioned in Going the Extra Mile for Jesus, and the adulteress (John 8:1-11), talked about in Fighting The “It’s Not Fair” Syndrome.
And it really doesn’t matter what their names are, because some day we will meet these beautiful women in heaven, and then we’ll know just who they are!
Anyway, back to the woman in Luke 7…
We don’t know a whole lot about her, but we do know that she knew who Jesus was, and she knew that Jesus would not look down on her, despite her past.
We also know that she came to the dinner a Pharisee had invited Jesus to, and she was bound and determined to show Jesus how thankful she was for treating her like a human being, rather than snubbing His nose at her.
You know the story: She brings with her an expensive bottle of perfume, and as she sits by His feet, becomes so overcome with joy for His kindness begins to weep uncontrollably. Her tears fall onto Jesus’ feet, so she dries them with her hair, and then takes the perfume and pours it on them (v. 38).
She was so overcome with gratitude and love for Him, that she didn’t care who saw it, or what people would say.
Another woman who touched my heart in the past was Karla Faye Tucker. Karla Faye and her boyfriend back in the 1980’s were high on drugs, and they ended up hacking her best friend’s husband and another person to death with a pickax. Their original plan? They were just going to steal a motorcycle.
Karla Faye was sentenced to death.
A few weeks prior to her execution she was interviewed by Larry King, who asked her if she was fearful of her death. Her response:
No. It gets a little more exciting every day.
Why on earth would she say such a thing?
Well you see, while she was in prison, Karla Faye met Jesus.
Karla Faye had attended a puppet show put on by a church ministry, and was so moved that she went back to her cell and started reading a Bible she had stolen. Her words:
That night I started reading the Bible. I didn’t know what I was reading and before I knew it, I was just — I was in the middle of my floor on my knees and I was just asking God to forgive me.
Of course Larry King thought for sure it had to be something more than just God who changed her attitude. Wrong!
It’s called the joy of the Lord. I don’t — when you have done something that I have done, like what I have done, and you have been forgiven for it, and you’re loved, that has a way of so changing you. I mean, I have experienced real love. I know what real love is. I know what forgiveness is, even when I did something so horrible. I know that because God forgave me and I accepted what Jesus did on the cross. When I leave here, I am going to go be with him.
Karla Faye was a real life example of someone who didn’t care if people thought she was a fool – she was speaking out for Jesus with her remaining time on earth. She was overcome with joy about soon being truly free.
So for those of you who still struggle with guilt and sorrow about mistakes that you’ve made in the past, please let them go. God’s love for you is unconditional, and He loves you more than you can think or imagine. Don’t let the enemy keep beating you up. When Jesus set you free, you will truly be free (John 8:36) – it’s a promise!
The God Of All Comfort 