Vineyard pastor Robby Dawkins once had a dream that his church was filled with people committing all kinds of crimes and indecencies. He looked around in shock as they had sex in the pews, sold and did drugs, got drunk, and more. Finally he yelled out, “If you’re not gonna honor God’s house and respect His house, then get out!”
He then heard God say, “Why would you send away what I have sent in? Why would you send away what you’ve been asking for? You asked me for the lost! Now, keep it simple. Love them. And let me change them.”
When a prostitute burst into a dinner party that Jesus was at with some pharisees, the pharisees were quick to fall in line with a “get out” line of thinking. If Jesus really was a prophet, he should have known who this person was and that she should leave. Jesus, of course, did know who this woman was, but did not need her to leave. Instead, he needed her to receive his deep and extravagant forgiveness in exchange for her deep and extravagant repentance.
“Now, keep it simple. Love them. And let me change them.”
*This devotional was created out of the themes of Luke 7:36-50 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net.
Jamin Bradley 