God is FOR us

At one of my churches we've recently started a teatime fellowship.  The idea is a simple one: we get together and share some food and chat, then look at a story of Jesus from the gospels.  It's a really good format, and can encompass people of all ages.  We don't go into great depth, but ask ourselves four questions: what does the passage tells us about God or Jesus, what does it tell us about people, what we should do in response to the passage, and who can we share the story with.

The passage we looked at yesterday was from Luke 7, the story of the woman who wept at Jesus' feet.  The woman comes into the story when Jesus is eating at the house of a religious leader.  We are told that the woman had lived a sinful life, and it is clear that the religious leader and his friends judge her as worthless.  They are shocked when Jesus shows love and compassion to the woman (when the religious leaders elsewhere call him a 'friend of sinners' they are not being complimentary!)

Time and again in the gospels we read of how Jesus showed acceptance, mercy and love to people, even when others might have regarded them as the dregs of society.  Jesus came to show us that God's love is for ALL people.  Everyone who comes to him is welcomed with open arms.  The story in Luke 7 is such a powerful one, and worthy of reading many times to allow its full impact to sink in.  The message of the passage is that whatever our background, whatever kind of life we may have lived in the past, God is FOR us, and wants to help us to live life to the full and discover our true worth and purpose.

This morning a friend posted a video clip on Facebook which makes this very point in a vivid and powerful way, for more eloquently than any words of mine.  I've watched it more than once, and each time I've been brought to tears.  I'll write no more, but encourage you to watch it HERE.