A Dangerous Love

Lk.7:36 - 50

36And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
40And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
44And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.


Many weeks ago I heard a voice. It wasn’t an audible voice, it did not vibrate the air born molecules, but it did vibrate inside my heart. I first understood it as a reminder of something that we all know, that we should love each other. But those of you who have ever had the relentless prodding of God’s Spirit will identify with what was happening to me. After giving a perfunctory acknowledgment, the Spirit kept ringing my doorbell. What in the world could He want, I know and I get it, we need to love one another.


But the bell kept ringing. OK, so I opened the door and instead of coming into my place, the Spirit bade me follow Him. Alright, something was going on here. Now what I am about to share is a metaphorical way that can be used to communicate that which happened to me, I wasn’t “carried away” in the Spirit as was Paul, but I was led by the Spirit into a deeper realm personally.


So as we came to a door that said “Love”, the door opened and the Spirit now ushered me into this extremely large room that seemed to have no walls. It was packed with furniture, some I recognized and most I had never seen before. As I looked around I began to feel as if I had never been in this particular room before. The furniture was so varied and yet they all matched. The carpet was red with a large cross design. I was feeling very uncomfortable in this room because I had gotten used to another room in which there was a lot less furniture and four walls. I wished I could go back to my old room with my favorite orthodox couch upon which I reclined with self satisfying delight.


This new room felt very dangerous and the implications of it all were staggering. There were many pieces of furniture that were very unappealing to me, and I thought that I would never have furnished my house with these pieces. As a matter of fact, there were some pieces in that room that some had said were not in this room. Some seemed to have honor and some were dishonored, but they all were there. I rushed over to the orthodox couch again and found safe refuge, very familiar and comfortable. The Holy Spirit came and sat next to me and told me that He desired for me to try other couches.

“Which ones?", I asked.

“Those”, He said as He pointed.

Oh no, I thought, I cannot go to those couches, they look so uncomfortable and many will think I like them. Some of them only had three legs and others seemed disheveled and ragged. Some had began to remove the upholstery they had been given by their Maker and were replacing it with some they had preferred, certainly I should not go sit on them. But the Spirit would not take no for an answer, and I slowly and reluctantly rose from my couch and waded into the unknown.

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Well that room was the love of God in Christ, and the furniture was the different parts of the body of Christ. The good, bad, and the ugly. How do I show, demonstrably, the love of God to someone who I believe is being deceived into compromising the truth of God? And when I go to sit on their couch in love, what will those on the couch I just left think?

I wonder what the angels thought as Jesus the Word became flesh, in the likeness of a disgusting, sinful man? Did they wonder why a holy and separate God would not only love those who were his rebellious enemies, but condescend into going to them and without His glorious reputation? Was the Lord concerned that His incarnate show of love would be misunderstood and tarnish His reputation? Well the Word tells us He refused to hold tight to His reputation and became love’s servant, and in that He became obedient to redemption’s plan which was empowered by God’s love.

Let me share that when I began to digest some of that I often would regurgitate what I was learning because it was much too dangerous, much too risky. I mean I could love everyone in the safe house of my own heart, away from the ever prying eyes of my peers, but to show God’s love demonstrably to those with whom I strongly disagreed? That would be too vulnerable for my reputation. If I showed God’s love to Rick Warren, many would think I agreed with him on theological and methodological issue. Man, that is way too dangerous. And besides, how can I confront some of his teachings and still show him love? You see, that part of being a disciple has long since vanished and to resurrect it would surely mean criticism. And since there are not any classes teaching it, would I have to learn it directly from the Spirit with hardly any examples?

I desire a safe love, one that shows love to those who are like me, those who are members of my own doctrinal gang. But how can anyone who has met, believed on, and fallen in love with Jesus deny that His love is very disconcerting and dangerous? Listen, I did not want or seek this, it was brought to me by God’s Spirit. There are many layers that must be removed and I still have much fear about compromise. God’s love can be shown without compromise, it is that expansive. And if God’s love necessitates compromise, then He would have been the greatest compromiser of all. Yet He was never touched by sin, never indulged in the sin of others, and was accused of being a sinner and a winebibber. His sacrificial love overcame it all, and as He walked among all the deceivers and compromisers He received all them that heard His voice and was uncaring about His own reputation. And if we are open and transparent with ourselves, haven't we completely dismantled the definition and power of God’s love in order to make it comfortable and safe?

So we need to cling to that which is true and be very stingy with our Scriptural commitments, and let us stay very close to Jesus Himself. And do not be surprised if while following close to the Master, He and His love takes you into dangerous neighborhoods, but do not worry, the only danger comes from our perspective, not His. You see in this atmosphere the word “dangerous” does not indicate a threat to our physical bodies, no, it defines a peril to our reputation. Can God’s love withstand a jeopardizing to our reputation ? The powerful and humble answer is yes.

Wasn’t Christ’s ministry of redemption, complete with an incorrect assumption that he was a sinful human, dangerous? Wouldn’t that path lead to many wrong conclusions about God’s holiness being tarnished by His mission? Yes, you say, but God knew ahead of time what would happen so in that it was safe. With that statement we reveal how little mystery we attribute to the Godhead and how arrogant we are in our assessments of the inter-Godhead ministry. The incarnation as the expression of God’s love to sinful man may very well turn out to be the most dangerous love of all, and one that we must model.

This woman who walked dangerously into the midst of a judgmental room, a sinner and a woman, bows at Jesus’ feet and washes them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with ointment. Very unorthodox and dangerous, and yet as she was being judged by the men in the room, the Lord saw her loving expression and forgave her sins. And He also reproved His own, orthodox disciples, because they were measuring God’s love through their own judgmental eyes. The Lord did not condone the woman’s lifestyle, as a matter of fact He forgave her sins. But there was more than just her sins active in that same room.

Do not ask me about all the implications of this Scripture and how it completely manifests itself in the earthly body of Christ, I am still at the beginning of a very dangerous path. Sometimes the path is comfortable and sometimes the pebbles are painful. Sometimes I can see way ahead and sometimes I cannot see my own feet. But the signs are a constant reminder that I am on the correct path. They say:

Danger! God’s love straight ahead. Keep going until you reach the cross!

I hope I can pick up a couple of scarecrows, a few tin men, and a whole lot of cowardly lions along the way. But be warned, there are many obstacles both from others and your own flesh who will attempt to convince you to turn back, and some will build a side road and point you in that less painful direction. If you do not sense danger, you are not heading to Golgotha, you are heading back to your comfortable couch that has an accommodating impression of your own view from years of use.

Love Dangerously, He does.