Luke 7:36-50 – Love for God

It is possible to show respect to Christ and the things of God and yet remain an unbeliever. The Pharisee, Simon, shows respect to Christ – he is polite, but he has no love of our Lord. You can go to church, sit in a pew, sing the Psalms, and want nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Being religious does not mean you are saved.

The woman who comes to Christ does what she does out of grateful love. If we want to do much for God, if we want to increase in our service of Christ, we must love God more. There will never be more done for Christ until there is more love of Christ. When we love our Lord with all our hearts we will be working for Him in all we do. Wholehearted love of God leads to wholehearted service of God.

Why? Why does this woman love Christ so much? Because she knows her sins have been forgiven. She understands that she is a sinner, lost and dying. She knows what Christ has offered, full and free forgiveness – not a forgiveness that she must earn. She has put her trust in Him, and He has saved her. It is important to realise that she loves Christ because her sins have been forgiven and not that her sins have been forgiven because she loved Christ. Loving God is the result of our forgiveness, not the cause. With this understanding of what God has done, her heart is filled with love and gratitude that flows out in her actions toward Christ. If we want to serve God more, we must love Him more; if we want to love Him more, we must understand more of who we were and what He has done for us.

Questions
1. Why did the woman have such love of Christ?
2. Which comes first our love of God or His love of us?
3. How can we increase in our love for God?

Prayer Points
1. Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.