Eternal Perspective

Last night, I started going to a six-week, women's Bible study at my church.

We were talking about Luke 7:36-50. (You can read the text of that passage here - no scrolling to find it, thanks to the awesome site Bible Gateway.)

We were talking about how much courage it took for this "sinful woman" to walk into a Pharisee's home to see Jesus, and what a monetary sacrifice it was for her to pour out her perfume on his feet.

One of the questions was "Why do you think the woman went to Jesus?"

Most people talked about her wanting forgiveness, but I don't think that woman had any preconceived idea that Jesus would forgive her.

I think she went there, at the risk of, at best, being shunned and ridiculed, but at worst, being stoned to death, because she realized who Jesus was (and is).

Would it surprise anyone to hear the story of something outlandish that someone did in order to meet their favorite celebrity?

We might not be willing to do the same, but such a story would not surprise us because we live in a society where we worship celebrities.

Once, I had a chance to go see my then-favorite political commentator. After his speech, some people were talking to him in the front of the auditorium. I really wanted to talk to him, but I was too afraid of going in front of all those people. Foolish, I know, especially since I have talked in front of crowds many times, but my desire to see him in person was outweighed by my fear of looking stupid to a crowd of people.

Then, there were other times that my desire to meet someone outweighed my fear of looking stupid.

Once we had a speaker at church - my church seats 450 and was packed - who my husband and I wanted to talk to because his sermon really touched our hearts and spoke to an issue we had been struggling with personally.

Again, I had that nervousness in my stomach that I get every time I am about to be in front of a group of people, but this time, it was overshadowed by my desire to speak to this man. (And I'm glad I did because he prayed with us and it was really amazing.)

I draw from these experiences my understanding of why this woman was willing to risk so much to see Jesus and show her love for him - her desire to see him outweighed any fear she had of going into that situation.

The reason I think she had such abandon was that she knew that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God, not that she expected anything in return. That was why her faith was so genuine. And that is why she had her sins forgiven.

The question I ask myself, then, is why don't I have such abandon when it comes to showing my faith? Do I not think Jesus is the Son of God?

Not only do I know who Jesus is, but I have also had much forgiven, at least as much as that woman. So why do I hesitate when I am in a position to show my faith?

Just a note here, when I say "show my faith," I am referring to a situation where it comes up, like if someone asks me a question about my life and the answer involves God. I do not now, nor will I ever, Bible thump. I don't think it is the best way for me to share my faith.

The answer comes down to perspective. I still hold on to a worldly perspective that what people think about me is more important than what God thinks about me; or worse, that what people think about me is more important than doing what God has called me to do, at least to some extent.

It is not until I can completely hold an eternal perspective - a perspective that the only thing that matters is that which has eternal consequences: building His Kingdom - that showing my love for Jesus will consistently outweigh my fear of looking stupid in front of people.

This is an area that I have been working on for some time, and I am getting better, but I still pass up opportunities to share my faith out of fear. This is something that is an on going battle, and will continue to be, "for our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." (Eph. 6:12)

I'll close with a couple of lines from the song, "It's Like Me," by my favorite band, Kutless. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find the video to embed.)

Sometimes I still never see
When perfect opportunities come my way
Would my care increase if I truly believed
That a life could be saved