(John 12:25) “Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
He that loves his life more than Christ shall lose it but he that hates his life but prefers the favour of God and his interest is in Christ shall keep it unto eternal life. It is Christ’s doctrine and He must insist on it to wean us from this world and to ignite within us a hope that will be everlasting. We must learn to hug Christ at the expense of this overpowering drive to love self and lookout for self. We must seek out grace to accomplish this; it is only for a season that we will have to endure with this body of corruption!
Just a little longer and the trump of God shall sound. There is a day coming when the trump of God shall bellow through the heavens and the dead in Christ shall be changed, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye men and woman will be going about their daily affairs and the next minute, awestruck as they behold their glorified bodies. A body that is incorruptible, immortal, never subject to the degeneration of death, it shall sure be a sweet day, the sweetest of days. Our abode will no longer be amongst thorns and thistles, we will walk upon streets of Gold with God as our God and Father as His radiance in and through the Godhead in its fullness available for us to enjoy, the Lord’s brilliance radiating light so that no sun is needed there. Nothing that is able to defile is permitted to enter those pearly white gates. The Word of God, our Saviour will be on His throne as we will serve Him as King, He will be magnificent to behold. That will be a glorious day, it is days like these when I feel a little weaker and despondent and somewhat insignificant that I need to be reminded of the hope we have in Christ our Saviour, and we need to consider Calvary and all His accomplishment there. Our eyes need to shift from self and others to Him; the safest place for the child of God is at the feet of Jesus... do you recall the account of Mary where she took a pound of expensive ointment from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. She had understood the greatest place she could find herself was at the feet of Jesus; it will be no different in heaven, with our King on His throne with His faithful saints awaiting His instruction. “Have you not seen, have you not heard, have you not understood,” Mary had definitely understood that she needed to wash her master’s feet, no towel needed as she used her hair to wipe off the excess spikenard from her masters feet, no thought given to her own glory (hair) as it was of little importance to her as she beheld His glory! A very good example of how she was willing to lay aside her own life to lay hold of eternal life. She took what was precious to woman of that time, and used it on the Lord Jesus in abundance, it was so pleasant that all within the room enjoyed the agreeable aroma that now filled the space, except of course Judas the one who was a thief. He was so taken up by his own life that he missed her heart in the matter. A good example of one who lost his life! He loved his own life so much that he ended up with thirty pieces of silver, but all it produced was death! “And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5)
What about the woman caught in adultery? The law demanded that she be stoned, it demanded her life! What was she to do? There was nothing she could do within herself to save herself, but she was now at the feet of Jesus and she found life, no sweeter place to be found than at the feet of Jesus? For her, it was sweeter than that of the honeycomb, forgiveness can be found nowhere else but at the feet of Jesus. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:10-12)
Probably amongst the greatest of all accounts was the sinner who needed to find forgiveness at the cost to her own humiliation. When have you ever seen such humility that this sinner finding repentance has shown us such homage washing the Lord’s feet with her own tears and wiping them dry with her hair.
“The great respect which this poor penitent sinner showed him, when he was at meat in the Pharisee's house. It was a woman in the city that was a sinner, a Gentile, a harlot, I doubt, known to be so, and infamous. She knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, and, having been converted from her wicked course of life by his preaching, she came to acknowledge her obligations to him, having no opportunity of doing it in any other way than by washing his feet, and anointing them with some sweet ointment that she brought with her for that purpose. The way of sitting at table then was such that their feet were partly behind them. Now this woman did not look Christ in the face, but came behind him, and did the part of a maid-servant, whose office it was to wash the feet of the guests (1Sa_25:41) and to prepare the ointments.
Now in what this good woman did, we may observe,
1. Her deep humiliation for sin. She stood behind him weeping; her eyes had been the inlets and outlets of sin, and now she makes them fountains of tears. Her face is now foul with weeping, which perhaps used to be covered with paints. Her hair now made a towel of, which before had been plaited and adorned. We have reason to think that she had before sorrowed for sin; but, now that she had an opportunity of coming into the presence of Christ, the wound bled afresh and her sorrow was renewed. Note, It well becomes penitents, upon all their approaches to Christ, to renew their godly sorrow and shame for sin, when he is pacified, Eze_16:63. 2. Her strong affection to the Lord Jesus. This was what our Lord Jesus took special notice of, that she loved much, Luk_7:42, Luk_7:47. She washed his feet, in token of her ready submission to the meanest office in which she might do him honour. Nay, she washed them with her tears, tears of joy; she was in a transport, to find herself so near her Saviour, whom her soul loved. She kissed his feet, as one unworthy of the kisses of his mouth, which the spouse coveted, Son_1:2. It was a kiss of adoration as well as affection. She wiped them with her hair, as one entirely devoted to his honour. Her eyes shall yield water to wash them, and her hair be a towel to wipe them; and she anointed his feet with the ointment, owning him hereby to be the Messiah, the Anointed. She anointed his feet in token of her consent to God's design in anointing his head with the oil of gladness. Note, All true penitents have a dear love to the Lord Jesus.
III. The offence which the Pharisee took at Christ, for admitting the respect which this poor penitent paid him (Luk_7:39): He said within himself (little thinking that Christ knew what he thought), This man, if he were a prophet, would then have so much knowledge as to perceive that this woman is a sinner, is a Gentile, is a woman of ill fame, and so much sanctity as therefore not to suffer her to come so near him; for can one of such a character approach a prophet, and his heart not rise at it? See how apt proud and narrow souls are to think that others should be as haughty and censorious as themselves. Simon, if she had touched him, would have said, Stand by thyself, come not near me, for I am holier than thou (Isa_65:5); and he thought Christ should say so too.” (Matthew Henry)
Sin is such a vicious enemy that it seeks to destroy the saint, it constantly rises its head to try and trip us up, and at times even thought it ought not to be so, we fall by it! How many have fallen in it? We need to be vigilant against the sin that so easily besets the believer; we must be on guard against it. However if we do sin we have a High Priest that when we confess our sin He is just and faithful to forgive us of our sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9)
I can honestly say there is a part of my character that I hate with such vigilance, I long for the day when I will see my Saviour as He now is, not bruised and crushed hanging on a tree but in all His glory, seated at the right hand of the Father. There is a day coming when His promise will eventually arrive in its fullness and we will be like Him. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, Amen!
Signing off
Tyrone
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