Sunday June 24, 2007 | Greg Boyd
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like. But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
When we look at the fallen world around us, we often see division, separation, and seclusion. Whether it’s separation by family, country, ethnicity, religion, there is a tendency to sort ourselves into people groups by what we like or do not like. Though this may be natural in this world, it is completely opposite of what the Kingdom of God is about. Jesus came and demonstrated a radical willingness to associate with people of all walks of life with the love of God.
When we look at the fallen world around us, we often see division, separation, and seclusion. Whether it’s separation by family, country, ethnicity, religion, there is a tendency to sort ourselves into people groups by what we like or do not like. Though this may be natural in this world, it is completely opposite of what the Kingdom of God is about. In Luke 7:36-50, we see just how deeply inclusive Jesus’ kingdom really is. In a very awkward scene, an outcast woman demonstrates her great love for Jesus by the scandalous behavior of bursting in unannounced and washing his feet with her hair. Jesus turns the tables on those who begin to judge her, by showing his openness to receiving her gift. Jesus saw the humanity in her that the self-righteous, self-appointed judgers could not see. Jesus came and demonstrated a radical willingness to associate with people of all walks of life with the love of God.
The story of the woman who washes Jesus’ feet shows us the importance of guarding our hearts against living in separation from one another through judgment. Whenever we get into a place of self-righteousness where we feel in any way superior to others because of who we are as opposed to whom others are, we are in the dangerous place of being far from God’s Kingdom. This is because God’s Kingdom is all about humility and love. We are all sinners. If we choose to acknowledge our dependence upon God by looking at our own sin, we will see the invisible walls of judging separation come down, because we will realize that we all need and receive God’s grace.