At the feet of Jesus

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Luke 7:37-38

Where did that weeping come from? I don't think it was simply sadness or joy. I think I can relate. Can you relate as well?

Her weeping reminds me of how I cried in church when I had just started following Jesus. Many times tears would flow inexplicably during the singing of the hymns. I could not hold them back. I was like a child who had been separated from her mother far too long and was newly returned to her. My tears released my pent-up emotions - relieving the stress of trying to do life on my own. Not knowing the love of Christ had been harder on me than I had realized. I was embarrassed to break down like this in church, yet it felt good to let it all out. The tears cleansed my soul.

How this woman must have loved Jesus! Other people, like the Pharisee, treated her with disdain. But Jesus saw her as a person He could accept and love, in spite of her sins. What a relief it must have been for her.

I've heard from many people who have such emotions surface during worship...not only new believers. Tears in church are not uncommon at all. But imagine if we could have the physical presence of Jesus right there with us. Imagine if we could, like that woman, kneel at His feet when the tears come rolling down.

...Maybe we could do the next best thing. Next time we feel the tears surfacing, we could close our eyes and picture Jesus with us. We too could worship at His feet, knowing that we don't have to struggle on our own. We too are loved. We too are forgiven.

(If you would like to receive reflections on scripture similar to this, written with people with mood disorders in mind, go to www.livingroomsupport.org to subscribe.)