“Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

This is a dramatic story of great contrast between a Pharisee and a woman who is described as “living a sinful life.” Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee. The woman comes into the home acting as a servant. She proceeds to wash and kiss his feet and then pours expensive perfume on his feet. Jesus points out three social failings of the Pharisee host. The woman fulfills these three expectations. The Pharisee is aghast at the behavior of the women. Jesus then tells him a parable with a question about being forgiven a great debt.

Forgiveness comes from confession and repentance. Jesus ties forgiveness to the act of loving others. If we have been forgiven little, we will love little.

The foundation for our capacity to love others is built on our experience of being forgiven by God. If forgiveness is a rare experience for you, than your acts of love will be infrequent. We often hear the exhortation to love one another. Of greater importance is the exhortation to forgive one another, just as God has forgiven you in Christ Jesus.

Do you want to become a more loving person? Ask God to bring to your mind areas of your life and relationships where you need to repent and seek forgiveness.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” -Psalm 139:23-24