There was once a woman who was so in love with Jesus that she washed his feet with her tears. And Jesus responded to this treatment by saying, “Wherever this gospel is preached, what this woman has done for me will also be told in remembrance of her.”1
Her actions were connected to her love, which is what connects this story to the gospel, since the gospel is that God loved us. But when was the last time you heard this story in connection with the gospel?
I’d be willing to guess: Never?
But friend, listen to me!
If you feel worthless,
if you feel unwanted,
if you feel ugly,
if you feel like a failure,
if you feel like trash,
if you feel gross,
if your self-given identity is ______,
then these are the lies of the devil. These feelings and identity shouldn’t define you.
I’m begging you to feel Jesus’ embrace. Feel his tears washing over you, cleansing you, making you new. Feel his love for you–his uncontainable love–bursting out of his eyes and falling over you. John said that when Jesus died, a soldier pierced his side and blood and water came out (John 19:34).
Some scientists and theologians have attributed this to his heart breaking on the cross.2 And if this is the case, what was it that made his heart break? Obviously, his overwhelming love for us.
And his love is a cleansing love, but what cleanses like water? And what are tears if not water? And where is love popularly centered?
When Jesus’s heart broke, and when the soldier pierced his side so water and blood flowed, it was a portrait of Jesus’ love for us. He shed blood and tears to cleanse us.
He has more tears to shed for you.
Let him embrace you, and let his love wash away all your shame.
I promise you, your life will look brand new if you do.
Hear him say:
My child, I love you. It grieves me that you’ve bought these lies for so long. You are wanted. You are valuable. You are precious and beautiful and good. You are a masterpiece. You are a treasure. You are lovely. I’m begging you, my child, to stop listening to the lies that redefine you falsely. Please.
A tear falls on your cheek, but it’s not yours. You look up, and he meets your gaze. More tears fall.
You wipe your eyes as your tears mix with his. What is this love? Where has this been my whole life? you wonder.
I have so much more for you then you’ve allowed yourself to believe. You never quieted yourself long enough to know me. You sought others’ explanations instead of me.
He has more to say. Are you ready to listen? Ask him to speak to you today–before you move on to anything else.
In this with you!
Thanks for reading.
While I am committed to providing theological reflections at no charge, your paid subscription makes my writing possible and helps me reach more people with the gospel of God’s love. If you’re not currently a paid supporter, please consider becoming a supporter today.
Notes and References
- Conflation of Mark 14:3–9 and Luke 7:36–50. ↩︎
- See Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 724, for this specific terminology: “the manner of Jesus’ death, namely by a ruptured heart”; however, see DA Carson, The Gospel according to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), 623–625, for a more thorough discussion. ↩︎
